The 94th Annual Hunger Games
by Zulera301
Summary: Lucia Alzar was well-known around District 5 as being pretty much completely harmless. A kindhearted blind girl who wished ill upon no one, she was something of a 'District Sweetheart' for the 18 years she was alive. However, after her name gets drawn for the Hunger Games and no one steps up to save her, a fiery boy named Cadence Montoya takes the stage and vows to bring her home…
1. Chapter 1: The Games Continue

**AUTHOR'S NOTES:** _Welcome one, welcome all, to the 94th Annual Hunger Games! This is the 4th volume of my "Fire Without a Spark" series, so be sure to check out the other stories in the series if you enjoy this one. This series focuses on what Panem was like if Katniss had never volunteered for Prim, and thus the 2nd rebellion had never happened. It's been ages since I've done one of these, but the next 'trilogy' of the series is now officially in the works. Like the other stories in this series, the 1st chapter is something of a prologue picking up where the last one left off,_ _so if you want to skip ahead and read the story without worrying about "Fire Without a Spark" continuity, feel free to skip to chapter 2. Otherwise... Enjoy.  
_

 **PART I: INNOCENCE LOST**

 **CHAPTER 1: The Games Continue**

While some might think that the Victor Village of District 2 was full of gung-ho career tributes that had won the games through their devotion to the Capitol, those who actually lived there knew better, and were among some of District 2's most dangerous and rebellious individuals. Some were more vehement about it than others, but of the 17 victors that had or currently inhabited the place, none of them had very strong positive feelings towards their oppressors.

The latest victor, a freckled girl by the name of Korra Francisco, had become notorious among the victors, both for her method of winning the 'games, and for her general attitude towards the Capitol and Panem in general. She was exactly the kind of leader and revolutionary that a rebellion would need in order to take off. The problem then was that even a leader of her caliber could not revolutionize the 12 remaining districts of Panem all on her own.

A passionate woman who took her role and responsibilities very seriously, Korra's reputation might have come off to some as rather off-putting or even intimidating because of the authority she exuded and commanded. However, getting to know her revealed a few simple but reassuring truths: She displayed humility in her actions, and at the end of the day, she openly admitted that she was still just a kid.

Reaping day didn't really mean much in a district so full of volunteers that boys and girls fought each other to get to the stage where escort Delun Frost waited to announce their names. They had no need for a lottery like any of the other districts (apart from District 1 of course). As such, the victors (who also served as mentors) often made bets with one another based on who looked promising from the various academies around the district. Other times they simply put their bets on a few rounds of cards.

"You ready for the mentoring life?" Clove quipped, "because unless you decide to chicken out, you and Amy are the ones going to the Capitol this time. You've finally ousted me without having to force Katsuo or Kaede back on the train."  
"I couldn't do that to them, the poor souls…" Korra frowned, "and I'm going to miss you too, Clove."

"I would have said that I was surprised that my time as mentor alongside the great Clove Kazera was so short," Amy quipped, "But I did promise Caesar during my interview a couple years back that I would not only win the games, but that I would bring home a victor the year after."  
"Glad to know I was just a pawn in your operation," Korra elbowed the much smaller girl. "but in all seriousness, I'm ready to be a mentor."  
"That doesn't surprise me at all, Francisco," Clove teased as she drew another card, "I'm not saying we can get a revolution going tomorrow night, but you're a natural-born leader. People don't call you Mockingjay for nothing."

"I don't think the other tributes are going to let us win three years in a row…" Korra admitted, "But whoever reaches that stage, I'll do my best to bring one of them home."

"That's the spirit," Amy smirked. "you'll do just fine, kid." Even now Korra found it ironic and yet somehow fitting that Amy called her 'kid', despite her being two years Amy's senior.

"I frankly never doubted you," Clove reassured her, "you've got the skills to be a better mentor than I am, and you know just how big of an arrogant prick I always am."

"What makes you say that?" Korra tilted her head as Amy picked up another card.

"Because sometimes, it's not about winning," Clove explained, "sometimes it's about the impact you leave on the games. Look at those tributes from District 12—those really dark-skinned ones that put paint on their faces and bodies and all that. None of the victors from there have been painted, but you can pretty much guarantee that everyone remembers them."

"So what you're saying is…" Korra began as she waited for Clove to finish her sentence. She had a shrewd idea where the older girl was going with this.

"Sometimes, winning the games is not how you live forever." Clove finished, laying down a perfect hand, "Cato Salazar, Vex Greenwood, Marcus Romero, Chel Colorado, Vivian Nelson, Sacagawea Kwan… people like that aren't about to be forgotten any time soon."

"As lovely as reminiscing about district heroes might be," Amy interrupted them, "I think the ceremony's getting ready to start, and so if at least one of us doesn't want to get dragged by our hair out to the stage to help oversee it, we best be getting down there."

"Well shit if I'm going to sit around and collect dust while you all have the fun." Clove stood up, "I'm going with you whether you like it or not."

Neither Amy nor Korra seemed to mind this change of plans, and so Clove accompanied them down to the reaping stage, where they saw dozens of boys and girls lined up and raring to race each other to the stage. It was always a rather interesting sight to behold, because it was more than just a running race, and rare was the year when less than half a dozen fights broke out between potential tributes.

Clove threw an approving smirk to those around her, glancing at two massive statues that stood on either side of the stage: Marcus Romero, the male tribute from the 92nd Hunger Games that had been Amy's strongest and most competent ally; and Chel Colorado, the female tribute from the 91st Hunger Games that had helped lead little Ava Togisala to victory. She also had statues of her own partner Cato, as well as a statue of a woman named Vivian Nelson, a heroic District 1 girl from the 93rd Hunger Games. Clove was one of the finest masons and sculptors on Panem, and her talent showed. Korra and Amy also knew that she was an extremely dangerous fighter, and as such, they hoped that the tributes they would be mentoring this year would have the strength, skills, and smarts to potentially enable one of them to return home as another victor.

The tall, slender young woman that reached the stage first after the girls had all lined up and awaited their cue gave her name as Gabriela Sanchez. The male tribute was almost equally surprising, for instead of the usual hulking boy or athletic tribute, a similarly slender young man joined Gabriela on the stage, introducing himself to Delun as Nazir Mateaki.

Amy and Korra remained silent, seated, and with their arms crossed, but their eyes were moving as they sized up their tributes for the year. They were not worried about performance, for they hardly needed to put their hopes on chance that tributes who spent years training at academies designed specifically for the Hunger Games, would perform poorly in games they spent their lives training for. District 2 always did well in the games, both in training scores and in placement and kill counts.

 _=District 11, around the same time...=_

While they weren't exactly notorious for producing volunteers the way their brethren in District 1 and District 2 were, District 11 was respected for their pool of victors, trailing only behind the two career districts, and District 5 in terms of numbers. These tributes usually scored high and performed well, and this year seemed to be no exception.

The escort picked a name out of a bowl, as was standard protocol in the ten non-career districts, and a moment later, out came a girl's name:

 _"Xandra Kanosh!"_

A hardy, stocky girl trudged forward, stumping up the few steps to join the escort at the stage. Her eyes glanced out among the crowds to analyze her competition—or more accurately, who her most likely first ally would be. While they had some years where their tributes didn't get along (as did any district), the tributes of District 11 often teamed up with one another and wreaked havoc. Xandra hoped that this would be the case this year, especially with her own life on the line.

 _"Kilon Sotega!"_

A slightly slenderer boy stepped up to join Xandra, although his bare arms betrayed an athletic build similar to his partner except likely a bit speedier in exchange for strength. Like most tributes from District 11, there was hardly any noise after their names had been publicly announced to the rest of Panem, and they crossed their arms in stoic silence as the rest of their district raised their arms in a three-fingered salute to show solidarity. Originally from District 12, this salute had become very popular in District 11 because of the similar way the two districts thought: two rural, rebellious districts wrought with poverty and starvation and a rather clear dislike for the Capitol and the richer, more loyal districts. One thing was clear as the two tributes were escorted into the Justice Building to say their final goodbyes: even if neither of them came home alive, they were going to do a great deal to prevent themselves from being forgotten. The career tributes were not the only ones that could be memorable—and District 11 wanted to refresh Panem's memory in that regard.


	2. Chapter 2: The Renegade Volunteer

**AUTHOR'S NOTES:** _And now we get to finally catch a glimpse of the main characters mentioned in this fic's description. Like all of my Hunger Games fics, I aim to make the experience different than my other ones, and so hopefully I'll be able to explore the character development of Lucia and Cadence as necessary. In the meantime... chapter 2._  
 _Happy Reading!_

 **CHAPTER 2: The Renegade Volunteer**

Few outside the reaches of District 5 understood the full extent of what went on in this mysterious district. While sometimes they had volunteers racing to the stage, other times they all watched the electronic lottery spit out numbers onto a screen which then matched up to the ID of a boy or girl who was then picked for the Hunger Games. Such was the nature of the reaping. It would have been considered unique had District 3 not done something similar. Other districts (barring '1 and '2, which had no need to ever choose names considering their large pools of potential volunteers) just drew slips of paper out of glass bowls when volunteers didn't step up.

Judging on how the children of District 5 were assembling on this year's Reaping Day, it didn't seem like there were going to be volunteers this time around.

Cadence Montoya had actually considered not even going. Sure it might mean punishments that he could only fathom in terms of severity, but at the same time, what did he really have to lose or gain? He had no parents unless the stories of their deaths were falsified by the Capitol, but he couldn't see why that would happen. None of them were particularly rebellious like those wild kids out in District 12. He knew that the previous victors had different familial situations. 91st victor Aveline Togisala's father had died while her mother was pregnant with her, but that woman was also alright. The girl had lost her brother that same year, however. Cadence briefly wondered how that must have felt, but didn't dwell on it too long.

92nd victor Amy Zavala's situation reminded Cadence of his own lot: an only child, with parents who practically didn't exist, except she at least got to see her parents every few months. 93rd victor Korra Francisco's lot in life was like his: her parents were gone for good. She did have an older brother though, while Cadence did not. So really… who would miss him?

Despite all of this, Cadence joined the other boys for the reaping, his fiery red curls making him stand out among the crowds fairly well. He received several curious looks, but there was a fire in his blue eyes that made the 15-year-old boy seem much more menacing, and so most people backed off.

He was fixated on a quiet woman across from him among the other girls: Lucia Alzar. She was kind of a crush of his, but more importantly, she was the district sweetheart. A tall girl with flowing chestnut locks and wearing a cute blue sundress, she was the district sweetheart—not for her good looks, but more for her gentle personality. Year after year everyone hoped that she would never get chosen for the games. Hers was a gentle spirit that would not want to hurt anyone, and since she was blind to the point where all she saw was blackness, there didn't seem to be a way she could do much harm to anyone anyways.

Cadence kept his eyes fixated on her for most of the Capitol propaganda, ignoring the neon purple-haired woman rambling about the Dark Days or whatever other bullshit she was spouting off. He had heard it three times already, and at worst all they could do to punish him at this point was pick his name for the reaping. He wouldn't mind killing a few kids. He figured he could take them.

Nephenee Glitz though… Cadence wanted to punch that escort woman right in the face, tear that fiery dress off of her and use it as a rope to strangle her with. He wasn't sure what it was about her that rubbed him the wrong way. Maybe it was her voice; maybe her garish outfit; maybe her wanton disregard for the lives that would be lost within the next few weeks, or maybe a combination of the above.

"And now," she snapped Cadence out of his thoughts as she prepared to start the lottery. "we move to choose the tributes for this year's Hunger Games! As usual… ladies first!"

Nephenee walked over towards a box with a lever on it, and pulled it. One of the screens lit up, and five digits began scrambling to add a sense of randomization to the game. After a while, each one stopped, producing a five-digit number which flashed for a moment before revealing a name and a photograph.

" _Lucia Alzar!"_ Nephenee called out. Cadence waited a second or two, anticipating a voice shouting out to volunteer in her stead. However, after a few seconds as the blind girl slowly meandered towards the stage, that no one was going to save her.

"No one!?" Cadence bellowed, "After all the talk about wanting to keep Lucia safe, no one cares when it actually matters? I volunteer!"

Nephenee was not the only one shocked at this boy's assertion. "I… am afraid that is not possible." She began, "Only a girl can replace another girl as a volunteer."  
"Pick another one then!" Cadence shouted. "I volunteer as tribute."

"now, now… you'll have to wait your turn, dear…" Nephenee's expression was perplexed. This was clearly not something that happened very often, especially not in District 5. She was fairly certain that rules and protocol prevented Cadence from being allowed to do what he was trying to do, and so Nephenee had to follow Capitol protocol rather than bend to the desires of a renegade boy.

"And now… for the boys…" Cadence didn't dare step out of line just yet as much as he wanted to, because he had seen that happen before in reruns. 20 years ago a District 12 girl named Katniss had done the same thing before begin restrained. Cadence couldn't let that happen to him.

Cadence barely saw the name "Mario" pop up on the screen before he bellowed "I VOLUNTEER!" once again. Nephenee didn't even get to call out the other boy's name as Cadence pushed his way through towards the stage. This time no one stopped him, and no one stopped him as he gave a small 'speech' of his own.

"I hope the rest of you fuckers get flayed," he glared fiercely at the girls, most of whom actually looked genuinely frightened at the boy's hostility. A few looked like strapping fighters, but plenty of others looked as gentle and timid as Lucia. "And you…" Cadence spun around glaring at Nephenee, before pointing two fingers at his eyes and then back towards hers as he stood by Lucia on the stage.

"W-well then…" Nephenee cleared her throat. "Our tributes from District 5… Lucia Alzar and Cadence Montoya! Happy Hunger Games, and may the odds be ever in your favor!"

"Cadence…" a soft voice whispered as a hand rested on his shoulder. Cadence cocked his head so sharply his curly hair nearly whipped Lucia's face.

"It's… going to be okay…" she said softly. Cadence growled, and knew that Lucia was lying more than she ever had. It was not going to be okay. She was not a fighter, and those other kids would destroy her once they reached the arena. Even if she did somehow miraculously win, the death and carnage would surely traumatize her even if she couldn't see it. Ideally, Cadence figured he could protect her—take her all the way to the end of the games so it was just him and her, and then end his own life to bring her home. There was no point fantasizing this early though. Odds were they wouldn't even make it that far.

The 5 or 10 minutes they spent in the Justice Building were fairly quiet, as neither of them had any family to say goodbye to. Apparently everyone who considered Lucia the 'District Sweetheart' wasn't even bold enough to see her face to face as she went to her death. Only one boy visited Cadence: he recognized him only from seeing his face briefly on the lottery screen before his own had replaced it with the word " _VOLUNTEER_ " in red letters beneath it.

"Hey," he looked at Cadence, who merely grunted to acknowledge his presence.

"I'm sorry about Lucia…" Mario whispered. "I'd have done something too if I was a girl…"  
"How could they…" he was trembling, his fists clenched, "how could they not step up to save her?"

"I…" Mario didn't know how to respond, "I don't know, man. And, I know this probably seems pretty pathetic to say at this point, but… thanks for volunteering."  
"I'll be honest and say it was more for Lucia rather than you," Cadence admitted, "but hey, at least someone will get to live."  
"Well, thanks either way," Mario insisted, "Whatever your intentions are, you saved my life. You're tough enough that you might be able to stand against the careers. Me? I'd last about 38 seconds, tops."

"Enjoy your life then," Cadence grunted, "and give those girls hell for me, alright?"  
"Uhh… alright." Mario shrugged, not exactly sure what he meant, and not exactly intending to carry out that request, "may the odds be ever in your favor then?"  
"The odds are never in my favor." Cadence frowned, "I'll see you on the other side…"  
The Peacekeepers came for him and Lucia a moment later as Mario waved goodbye. He was a decent enough fellow, and Cadence wasn't angry at him as much as he was just angry at everything right now. As he watched Lucia's skirts flow with each step she took, he knew he had to make it his duty to keep her safe in that arena—for as long as humanely possible.


	3. Chapter 3: Sizing The Contenders

**AUTHOR'S NOTES:** _The reaping and train ride chapters all tend to be introductory in nature before the tributes reach the Capitol. Once that happens (likely in the next chapter in this case) we will get to see much more of these characters and their motivations. Also... the so-far-unnamed career girl has a name. It's just not going to appear in this chapter. I don't think careers this powerful are doomed to be cannon fodder. While this story is standalone, anyone who wants to get an idea of what might happen and when (ergo: the parade, the scores, the stylists, etc) feel free to check out the prequels (the 93rd/92nd/91st Hunger Games), since the pre-game ceremonies generally take the same amount of time regardless of what tributes are involved._  
 _Either way, Happy Reading!_

 **CHAPTER 3: Sizing the Contenders**

There was silence as the two of them boarded the train. Cadence was deep in thought while Lucia seemed either oblivious to her upcoming fate or she had merely accepted it. She wandered into her compartment slowly, her hands feeling the walls, and then the bed. Once she had fully located it, Cadence blushed at what he saw next: without warning, Lucia had stripped her dress off before laying on the bed in just her shoes and underwear. It didn't disturb him quite as much as just catching him off-guard. His face went nearly as red as his hair when he heard her voice though.

"Cadence?" she whispered. He mentally slapped himself—she could still hear him.

"Sorry!" He stammered, his low voice emanating a mixture of agitation and embarrassment. "I…"

"That dress is just a little stuffy," she chuckled softly. "I… just wanted to ask you something."  
"Should I turn away so you can get dressed?" He offered.

"Don't worry about it," Lucia whispered, "can I ask you something now?"  
"Erm… go ahead." Cadence stuttered again.

"Why did you want to volunteer for me?" Lucia was a simple girl, but not stupid. She was just so mellow and carefree that it was easy to think she was oblivious. The fact that she was in her smallclothes in front of a boy she didn't know was another piece of evidence supporting this claim, at least in Cadence's mind, but he remained focused on the subject at hand.

"You do realize where we're going, right?" He tilted his head.

"Oh yes," Lucia nodded, "I probably will die in there… but maybe I will last longer if you're protecting me like you say you will."  
"I meant that much," Cadence asserted. "And that's why I volunteered—I want to protect you and maybe even bring you home."

"That's so sweet," she giggled, "Just don't lose yourself in there, especially not over me, okay?"  
"I don't have much else to live for back home," Cadence grunted, "and after seeing those people all abandon us in our time of need, I say to hell with 'em."

"Mario idolizes you."  
"Did he speak to you?"

"Only for a moment; you might not know him, but you did just save his life."  
"I'd rather save yours."

"We should talk to our mentors then," Lucia sat up, reaching for her dress to put it back on, "maybe they have some good advice to give us."

"Mm," Cadence nodded, "let's go." His mind was already on the other tributes, wondering what he'd be up against. He was not worried for his own life, but knew that Lucia was probably right about her not being able to make it out of the arena.

To his surprise, he found Johnny Stallings and Bethany Shanza conversing in the dining car, their expressions indicating that they had practically been waiting for the two to show up. Bethany let out a small sigh as Lucia sat down, lamenting the notion that the little district sweetheart was going to her death. It was Johnny, however, who spoke first.

"You've got some incredible stones, kid." He raised his eyebrow, "I've never seen Nephenee get so flustered. You could have goaded her even more and gotten away with it I think."  
"As much as I want to punch her, that wasn't my end goal," Cadence clarified, "I was just trying to save Lucia from this fate. Looks like that worked real well now, didn't it?"

"still…" Johnny remarked, "that's the kind of skill we need here in '5. Lately we've been in a drought almost like District 12 back in the day. I won almost 20 years ago, and I'd say it's about time we put District 5 back on the map."  
"I wouldn't have volunteered if I didn't think I could bring home a victor for District 5," Cadence asserted, not ruling Lucia out as long as he drew breath to protect her, "we're gonna hit the double digits this year."

Johnny was the 9th victor from District 5, which was still the 3rd-best performance in Panem, trailing only behind the career tributes in District 1 and District 2.

"If we get too careless, '3 or '11 might sneak up on us." Bethany warned, "they've both got 8."

"I'd normally promise to kill them first," Cadence retorted, "but I guess we should probably look at the reaping recaps to see who is a threat."

"On it," Bethany grabbed a remote, pressed a couple buttons, and watched as a screen lowered in front of them and showed the recaps of the reapings starting from District 1. Neither of them looked too imposing this year, but of course that was offset by something or another, probably speed or hidden strength. They had, after all, beaten dozens of other boys and girls to reach that stage, since tributes practically fought to volunteer in those districts. Cadence missed the girl's first name (her last name was apparently Li, however), but caught the boy as being named Faren Dumar. He looked like fairly standard District 1 stock, although his partner sported a rather exotic hairstyle that made her stand out. He wondered if the Capitol Stylists would tone it down to keep her from standing out so strikingly, or if they would capitalize on it.

"Nazir Mateaki and Gabriela Sanchez…" Johnny commented as the names of the District 2 tributes showed up on screen, and footage of two athletic and clearly confident youths appeared on the screen. "More standard fare careers—definitely trouble unless you join them."

"Did either of you join the careers your years?" Cadence asked somewhat rhetorically.

"No, but it's happened before," Johnny explained, "and if not them, maybe the tributes from District 3 might be good allies to have, depending on how well you get along with them."  
Cadence grunted as Chase Rebiana and Ratchet Caseres showed up on screen, looking confident despite not being volunteered. District 3's electric lottery showed their faces on a large screen behind them—the only other district to have a cool electronic lottery the way District 5 did.

Despite all of this, Lucia remained quiet and Cadence didn't seem too interested in forming alliances with any of the boys or girls he saw on the screen, and after District 4, he didn't really even bother trying to remember any of the names.

"Uh oh," Bethany broke the silence as they watched the tributes. District 11 had just appeared, with tributes Kilon and Xandra glaring stoically at the cameras. Like many tributes from this outer district, they looked muscular and threatening. Despite being rank with poverty and dealing with gripping hunger and starvation on some fronts, it always seemed like the kids from this district were strong and wound up being competent fighters. Cadence remembered their faces for now. As the cameras switched to District 12, however, he knew that something wasn't right, especially not after Johnny and Bethany simultaneously said "uh-oh" again.

"Hmm?" Lucia actually seemed more startled by this than Cadence.

"Painted Tributes," Bethany warned, "While '12 is often as mixed a bag as '5, every now and again you'll get a pair of dark, grizzled tributes that wreak absolute havoc on the arena. They might not even necessarily win the games, but you know just from seeing them that they are going to be dangerous contenders."

"Mani Tauanu'u, hmm?" He glanced at the boy, "and Sudi Ontanago… This is gonna be fun." There was clear sarcasm in his voice, but Neither Bethany nor Johnny could really decode Cadence's attitude towards the whole thing. Lucia was calm and silent, as if she had long accepted that she was going to die. With contenders like these, she probably was. Cadence stared at the District 12 pair. The term "Painted Tributes" seemed rather obvious when looking at them: their dark skin was decorated with red and blue shades of what looked like warpaint, giving them a wild, almost feral look. He knew that in contrast to districts like '4 and '5, District 12 and District 11 weren't pretenders or pretentious at all. If they were showing Panem their colors (literally, in District 12's case), that was likely just how they behaved. Mani and Sudi were not celebrating the way volunteers from District 1 and District 2 would, but they were about as confident, and their stoic, unfazed expressions were reminders of this display.

"So what happens now?" Cadence spoke up again, "are you two going to give us some words of wisdom about surviving or something?"  
"You've seen what you need to see thus far," Johnny indicated, "we don't know anything about these kids yet either, but we will keep you posted. What you saw just now was a glimpse of your opposition. They stand between you and coming home—or bringing Lucia home if you're really still fixed on that."  
"I am." Cadence asserted, "I don't make idle promises."

"Then you've just upped the difficulty." Bethany warned, "But we will do what we can to help both of you. District 5 needs a victor."  
Lucia smiled before whispering. "You really don't need to worry about me, Cadence... I've lived a good life; I've enjoyed my time."  
"I know," Cadence nodded, "and I'm going to do everything in my power to help that continue…"  
He had his work cut out for him, but he felt obligated to persist. He wanted to bring Lucia home.


	4. Chapter 4: War and Peace

**AUTHOR'S NOTES:** _And now we get to actually see a bit more of where Lucia and Cadence are coming from as they make their way to and arrive in the Capitol. Updating schedule on this story is still the same,especially since I was suffering from a bit of a writer's block recently and still kind of am. Fortunately, I hope that nothing feels too forced. I was able to write most of this fairly easily._  
 _Happy Reading!_

 **CHAPTER 4: War and Peace**

There was not much else that Bethany or Johnny could tell Cadence that he didn't seem to already know, and Lucia had seemingly given up. She knew she was not a fighter, and while it upset Cadence, she was at peace with that aspect. She had lived a shirt life, but a happy life. She knew that they were not going to cater to her in the arena just because she was blind. Hours passed until the sun had gone down. The only thing that broke the silence was when Nephenee briefly popped in to mention that they would arrive at the Capitol the following morning.

"Bright and early!" she had reaffirmed, "so don't forget those smiles!"

"Can I punch her please?" Cadence growled after Nephenee had left, "Just once; I swear."

"Patience…" Bethany whispered. "the time to fight will come, but it is not now."

"It's survival of the fittest out there," Johnny frowned, "The Capitol doesn't give special treatment even to those little 12-year-olds that have never even touched a weapon. They wouldn't give Lucia special treatment just because she's blind."  
"All the more reason for me to protect her," Cadence asserted, "remember—there was a year where a kid hardly a couple days older than 12 won the games and killed nearly a dozen tributes on her own."  
"I don't want to burst your bubble about that, kid," Johnny sighed, "but she was a genius—easily one of the smartest people in the country. Now, neither you nor Lucia are by any means stupid, but I don't even think you could build a trap network that elaborate throughout the arena."  
"Is that a challenge?" Cadence cracked his knuckles.

"If you come out of there alive and in one piece, I don't really care how you do it," Johnny quipped. "I'm just saying that I don't exactly imagine Lucia is keeping that a secret."  
Cadence mused about this for a moment, thinking about the silent girl of such few words.

"Tell me something, Lucia," he turned his head to her.

"Hmm?" Lucia raised an eyebrow, turning her head in Cadence's direction.

"I only really heard of your reputation rather than experiencing it myself." Cadence began, "and so I'm curious as to why they called you the 'District Sweetheart'."  
"I never understood it either." Lucia shrugged, "All I really did was help people when I heard them need help, and listen to people when they needed to speak."  
"She did more than that," Johnny began, "she was therapeutic to some of us. She was famous not just among the victors, but around everyone she met, for this reason."  
"I enjoyed helping people." Lucia spoke calmly. "And now it seems that my time has come to an end."

"Not if I have anything to say about it." Cadence asserted, "See, I'm the opposite. I'm the kid a lot of people hate because I don't consider myself a very nice person. You made people happy, Lucia. And as harsh as I often am… I knew that, and think you deserve to go back more than I do. I don't need to be a friendly person to have morals."

"I think a bit of hostility might serve to your advantage in the arena," Bethany commented, "Being ruthless is the name of the game."  
"Then again, so is backstabbing," Johnny pointed out, "You'd know, Shanza."  
"In the games, you do what you have to do." Bethany began, but Cadence cut her off.

"I will not betray Lucia." He asserted, "I'll end my own life first."  
"I'm not saying betray Lucia…" Bethany quipped, "It's not the first time tributes have gotten moody with us mentors. Hear me out—what I'm saying is that you might want to try and form alliances. If formal alliances aren't your thing, go the informal route the way '11 and '12 often do, and have people that will 'save you for last', so to speak."

"Of course," Johnny interjected, "the catch is that every arena is different and so are the tributes that get sent there. So while we're happy to help give you pointers, there's only so much we can do before it comes down to you."

"I'll make sure that's not an issue." Cadence assured them.

Ultimately, the trip from District 5 was not very long, but the trains either took a scenic route or went slower than they did for the farther districts, because they all arrived at the same time and were certainly not equidistant from the Capitol. With it getting late, the mentors and tributes parted ways for their own compartments, Johnny casually warning them not to stay up too late.

"Nephenee won't see a difference," he quipped.

As Lucia and Cadence reached their compartments, Lucia turned to him and sighed.

"I just want to let you know something," she said softly.

"Hmm?" Cadence muttered, showing he was listening.

"You're not as bad a person as you think," she put her arms around him gently, "you just want to have a reason to like someone. You treat people the way you're treated, and you're wary of people. None of those are inherently bad traits."  
"And I chase people away." Cadence reminded her.

"Then why didn't you chase me away?" Lucia asked, "my reputation may have preceded me just as Johnny and Bethany's did, but you didn't know any of us."  
"Johnny and Bethany are our lifelines, and the links between us and sponsors." Cadence reminded her, "and I aim to receive some gifts if I want to keep you alive."  
"But what about me?" Lucia's colorless eyes seemed almost fixated on Cadence's fiery blue ones, "you said you never knew me apart from my reputation."

"And what of it?" Cadence tilted his head this time.

"It goes to show that you don't entirely judge everyone so hatefully," she pointed out, "you judge based on your perceptions. But the fact that you trust me means you believe there are still good people in the world. That's admirable."

"I'm just…" Cadence scratched his head, "not exactly very sociable."

"That's okay; you don't have to be." Lucia smiled, "I just don't want to see you lose yourself to that anger of yours. You're a good person, Cadence."  
"And how do you reckon that?"  
"You are here now because you wanted to protect someone who could never repay you. If that's not selflessness, then I don't know what is."

With that and a smile, Lucia disappeared into her quarters, leaving Cadence alone as he dressed for bed that evening. He lay there contemplating what Lucia said, and perhaps his hostile outlook was not as harsh as he had originally suspected. Then again, he imagined he would become very bitter without a counterbalance like Lucia in his life, and he hated to think about it. No, he had to make her win, because his life would not be worth living without her in it. He wasn't madly in love with her, but now he realized why Lucia was the "district sweetheart". She really did have all the right things to say to make someone feel better or at least be a lot less hateful. He wasn't sure when he finally drifted off to sleep, but there was not even a shadow of a doubt that Lucia was on his mind.

The next morning, true to Johnny's warning, Nephenee was there to make sure everyone was awake as they approached the Capitol. Cadence, like many other tributes, was weirded out by the purple showers, but calmed down a bit when he realized that the water and chemicals were not in fact detrimental to his health and well-being. Perhaps it would have been advantageous to be blind like Lucia right now. She didn't have any reaction to is, and simply showered like she normally would.

Either way, Cadence nearly smiled when he saw her dressed for the day. The breezy, lighthearted way she carried herself coupled with her almost carefree expression was relaxing to be around, even for someone as bitter and hostile as he was. Naturally, when the train pulled into the Capitol station, the crowds adored her. She didn't make eye contact with anyone, but she smiled and waved, turning her head every direction so that everyone got a chance to see her face.

By contrast, Cadence was much more stoic, and he was much more relieved when they finally got to the tribute tower and made their way to the 5th floor. It was as luxurious as it had been hyped up to be, and were it not there in preparation of a death tournament, Cadence might have actually found this place to be rather comforting.

"Now, now…" Nephenee beamed, "don't go too far, you two! Your stylists will be thrilled to see such a beautiful pair of darlings this year!"

Despite Nephenee's enthusiasm, both Cadence and Lucia were silent. Cadence more because he was introverted and had little to say unless spoken to, and Lucia because she appreciated the silence in a way as well. Both of them were actually contemplating what their stylists would do to them. District 5 was pretty reputable for its usually fairly attractive tributes, as well as being glitzy and flashy due to the nature of their industry. Time would tell, and they had a long afternoon of styling in front of them. As such, both of them took a deep breath and stood up as they heard a knock at the door…


	5. Chapter 5: Kurai and Kuro

**AUTHOR'S NOTES:** _And here we get to meet the stylists. They are sort of a shoutout to a couple other characters I like, but don't think too much about it. It's almost time to start catching sneak peeks of the other tributes, because we'll catch glimpses of them during the parade and whatnot. In the meantime, perhaps Cadence really does have a heart of some sort down in there somewhere._  
 _Either way, Happy Reading!_

 **CHAPTER 5: Kurai and Kuro**

Neither Cadence nor Lucia said anything when there was a knock at the door, although when Nephenee stepped back inside, she mentioned something about how sometimes tributes would get a little frisky when left by themselves. Cadence mentally admitted that he was not necessarily above that idea, but he had no interest in making any advances on a girl that would either live to experience his death, or that he would outlive if he made it to the victor's throne. Besides, most importantly, he was not sure that Lucia would even welcome it. He didn't know if she felt the same way about him, especially since he knew she couldn't actually see him.

"And now, the main attraction!" Nephenee beamed, welcoming a man and a woman into the room, and Cadence's eyes immediately scanned them before he even so much as stood up to greet them. The man had dark, wild hair that dropped to his waist in a series of wild spikes, and his outfit was rather red and shiny. Part of him wanted to quip that this man looked like a lobster with a bad hair day, but then again, one glance at the exotically-dressed Nephenee made him change his mind. Aqua blue and seafoam green were her colors of choice today and that didn't change how garish she looked in Cadence's mind.

However, as Lucia stood up, Cadence also caught eye of the female stylist: a very busty woman clad in black and gold, with flowing waves that dropped past her hips. The style was much less garish or outlandish than the man's, although her hair was colored a soft shade of lavender. The primal man within cadence had to tear his eyes away from the woman's cleavage, which her outfit generously exposed. He had a bad feeling about these two right away.

"Kurai; Kuro… don't be strangers!" Nephenee cast her eyes first to the man, and then to the woman. Great; they even had almost-matching names? Cadence audibly groaned.

"Now, now, darling…" Kuro spoke up, her hips swaying with each movement, "There's no reason to get angry so soon… we're here to make you dazzling!"  
"Give me four good reasons why I shouldn't hate your very existence." Cadence warned.

"We're here regarding your image, Cadence Montoya," Kurai spoke up, "You're under my care, while Kuro will ensure the same for Lucia. We're not here to turn you into an enemy." His tone had some commanding power to it, but at the same time, felt warm and most importantly, genuine. Cadence cast his threatening glare back towards both of the stylists once again, looking them over (and having to almost pull himself away from staring at Kuro's cleavage again). Perhaps they were not the ones threatening his well-being the way those that ran the Hunger Games were. He'd have to see.

Lucia seemed much more trusting, and as the two stylists led the two tributes towards the studios where they would get cleaned up and receive makeovers for the evening, Cadence saw Kurai and Kuro exchange looks before briefly casting glances at their tributes. It was clear that Kuro had an easy tribute while Kurai had his work cut out for him.

Rich districts like District 5 generally produced well-kept tributes, and despite his bad attitude, Cadence fell into this category just as Lucia did. As such, the cleanup phase and operation did not take as much time as Cadence thought it would, and soon Kurai began outfitting him. He, like nearly every other stylist to ever dress a tribute, was utterly unfazed with seeing Cadence naked, as it was just part of the job.

"You're easy on the eyes," he pointed out, In the Capitol, that's one of the things a lot of sponsors look for. Call us shallow if you wish, but many would not wish for an ugly tribute to win the games."  
Cadence opened his mouth, but it seemed that Kurai was prepared. "Of course, I highly doubt that anything I say can sway your judgment if it's so firmly rooted, and so you're welcome to hate me because of who I am as much as you like. However, I will continue to do my job to the best of my ability as long as you are under my care."

Maybe the stylists were different after all. Cadence was silent as Kurai outfitted him in a black and gold suit with little electrical pads and wires etched all over it. His fiery curls were styled to be a little frizzier than normal, although he suspected it was part of the costume. As much as Cadence had wanted to dislike this man, the calm way he did things and the way he was so accepting of Cadence's judgment made him think twice about the guy. He might have accepted Cadence's harsh opinions of him, but he didn't let those scathing words change his actions or thought processes.

"I guess I should apologize," he confessed after seeing himself in the mirror.

"For what?" Kurai tilted his head slightly, his wild brown spiky hair falling to the side. "Despite your complaints, you did not resist or give me further grief."

"For being an ass earlier," Cadence confessed, "I'm upset about a lot of things… but none are your fault." He paused, looking Kurai right in the eyes.

"I need her to survive," he whispered, and it was clear who he was referring to. "She deserves it."  
"that's why I need you to shine out there," he handed Cadence a seemingly innocuous object that looked like a flat metal board on a stick. "Wait a few moments after the parade starts and then lift it high above your head before you press the button. Just trust me. Lucia will know of it too."

"Right," Cadence nodded, observing the item in his hand. "I guess I should go out and meet her then; she's nearly done, yeah?"  
"She should be," Kurai nodded. "I wish you the best of luck."  
True to his prediction, however, Lucia had a much easier time with Kuro. Like Cadence, she had no qualms with Kuro seeing her naked as she got dressed.

"Darling, I think the most tragic thing about this entire situation is that you won't be able to see my masterpiece!" Kuro sighed, "You are a gorgeous woman; beautiful enough even without my help… someone as sweet and perfect like you deserves better."  
"It's okay," Lucia nodded, "I'm used to it. I can't change it, and so I make the best of my situation and go from there. Don't worry though—I trust you when you say I'm in good hands."  
"Then prepare to be amazed." Kuro grinned as she began outfitting Lucia, starting from the bottom up with a glittery pair of heels that truly were electrifying, "you'll dazzle more than just Capitol heads out there tonight, I promise." She gave Lucia a little peck on the nose as she continued dressing the blind tribute. She might not have fully understood Lucia's plight, but her emotions and expressions were genuine and heartfelt. She apologized profusely at the end of the makeover for an obvious mistake.

"How do I look?" Lucia had asked after Kuro announced that she was done.

"Come and see!" Kuro habitually guided the girl to a mirror, but Lucia didn't react.

"I take it I'm… 'dazzling'?" she asked innocently. Kuro slapped her forehead and frowned.

"Darling, I apologize profusely! In my excitement in dressing you, I was a fool and forgot you can't see. Let me show you what I see though…"  
She took Lucia's soft little hands in her own, and started from the top. "your hair is done up mostly to stay out of your way. It's a little frizzy to go with the electrical theme we want for you, and your clothes are similar. Be careful not to touch these little heavier parts…" she guided Lucia's hands around similar little electrified areas on her flowing dress that were similar to the ones on Cadence's suit, "I'm not sure if you know colors, but the golden highlights are accentuated by the black color… and as you might have heard me say earlier… these shoes are darling enough that I'd wear them all day if I could!" she giggled.

Lucia had a mental picture of herself in her head, and smiled at Kuro's affectionate description. "I believe you did a good job with me then," She smiled. "I know I can't really prove it at all, but I believe you. You're a genuine person, Kuro. I like that."  
"I just hope that poor Kurai can get that point across to your partner." Kuro frowned. "He's just as nice a man as I am, but I don't think Cadence sees that."  
"I'll make sure to clear it up if he doesn't," Lucia promised with a smile, "Cadence is a good person… he's just conflicted and angry about certain events outside of his control. He means well… he just sometimes gets a bit moodier than he should."

"Indeed," Kuro nodded, "although Kurai is right, you know. We're here to keep you two beautiful and popular as long as you draw breath. So go out there and let's show everyone what District 5 is made of!"

She gave Lucia the same prop item and instructions that Kurai gave to Cadence, and with one final embrace, the stylist and the tribute parted ways to go and meet up with their partners to wait for the parade. Both sides would have different roles of course, but it was to the parade that both couples were headed…


	6. Chapter 6: Friends of Serendipity

**AUTHOR'S NOTES:** _A few chapters ago I deliberately left out the name of the District 1 girl as I was telling the story. Her name gets revealed here, and we get to learn what those props the stylists gave Lucia and Cadence are all about. There's a slight bit of a continuity nod here, since Romula Snow is a character that got mainly introduced in my previous installment (93rd), and she becomes a prominent villain far later into the series, but nothing too big at this point or in this volume._  
 _Whatever the case, Happy Reading!_

 **CHAPTER 6: Friends of Serendipity**

Cadence was admittedly a little taken back when he laid eyes on Lucia again. Their outfits matched, (although plenty of Lucia's right leg was visible from a slit in the dress), and she even had one of the same props that he did. He looked at the flat, metallic object and wondered what it was. It looked like the cross between a paddle and a plank, only laced with electrical wires of some sort.

A few moments later the District 1 pair emerged from their studios, dressed in flambouyant shades of pink and lavender. The girl was practically in just a glittery pair of underwear and matching heels, while the boy looked about as fabulous as a male Capitol escort. They were soon joined by two tributes cloaked in black and red, with intricate symbols across their costumes—District 2. He perked his ears up to listen for the District 1 girl's name, but couldn't hear anything that sounded like it. They seemed pretty confident about an alliance, and Cadence heard Nazir and Gabriela's names again, but nothing of the girl. Faren, her partner, kept mentioning something about serendipity, which Cadence originally attributed to the luck of them making friends with District 2 so easily.

"What are you doing?" Lucia asked as more tributes began to emerge from the various studios. The richer districts were usually done first because there was a lot less cleaning up and making over to do for them, while a lot of the kids from the rural, poorer districts took much more time.

"That district 1 girl," Cadence mumbled, "I'm trying to figure out her name, but they're not saying it. Did you catch it during the reruns on the train?"  
"I didn't," Lucia's ears perked, "but it can't be that hard in a four-way conversation to pick it up."  
"What's up with all this 'serendipity' nonsense?" Cadence tilted his head, "I mean sure it's great for them that they're hitting it off together, as shitty as it might be for—"

"No…" Lucia interrupted him, "that's the girl's name."

Cadence squinted. There had been a part of him that had thought that, but what kind of a stupid name was 'Serendipity' for a child anyways? Then again, his name was Cadence, so perhaps he had no room to talk. Besides, this was District 1. Almost all of them, male or female, had weird names except for the girl last year, whose name was Vivian.

"Serendipity!" Lucia suddenly called out, and sure enough to Cadence's surprise, the exotically dressed girl pivoted rather elegantly on her heel, her wild hair bouncing with her movements.

"Oh, my… you are a sweet little thing…" despite the stoic appearance her costume exuded, even the careers noticed a certain level of innocence about Lucia, which was a trick on Kuro's part. "What can darling Serendipity do for you, love?"

Lucia wasn't sure if this girl was flirting with her or if she was just as sweet as she acted. Cadence immediately suggested that it was an act.

"We were just curious if that was your name," Lucia admitted, "we meant no harm by it."

Serendipity shrugged, before catching the silvery grey of Lucia's blank eyes, where she put a hand to her mouth in somewhat surprise.

"So it's true then…" she whispered. "You really are…"  
"Blind?" Lucia shrugged a shoulder, "mm-hmm."

"And here I was hoping you'd appreciate these 'gams," Serendipity joked, striking a somewhat suggestive pose that even Cadence noticed. "Either way… nice seeing you, Lucia. You too, Cadence. I like your name too…" she winked at him, and even blew him a kiss as she stepped back towards her partner and their chariot.

Cadence wasn't sure what to make of her, but knew that she meant trouble. His mind was taken off of this, however, when he saw the other tributes emerge. District 9's tributes seemed to almost match a pattern that the tributes from District 11 and District 12 had. The two were clothed in robes of shimmering gold, possibly to reference the amber waves of grain or something poetic like that. The pair from District 11 were clad in exotic orange outfits, and maybe it was just to match or go well with the colors of their skin and hair, but Cadence didn't know what the meaning of the orange was.  
Similarly, he did not understand the primitive-looking dark red outfits that the District 12 pair were wearing either. They looked a lot fiercer, almost like tribal chiefs or something like that. But how that connected with the mining district was something Cadence couldn't piece together, and so maybe it was just a mystery he was not meant to solve.

Whatever the case, the tributes began to board the chariots, and Lucia got to talking with Cadence about their props. She was just as curious as he was as to what it would do—probably a little more so, considering that she was blind.  
"It probably lights up or something, based on the circuitry," Cadence explained to her, "Although I couldn't tell you what it's going to form. Kurai told me to watch for his and Kuro's cue before raising it and pushing the button."  
"Ah," Lucia nodded slowly. "Will you help me then?""  
"Are you fine with holding hands?" Cadence offered. While he undoubtedly had teenage hormones and an obvious draw towards attractive women (as he had witnessed with Lucia on the train, Kuro in the apartment, and Serendipity just recently), he was also mature enough to know his boundaries. "I can squeeze your hand at the cue if you are."  
"That will work," Lucia smiled. "Do let me know what it says too when you can."

"Will do," Cadence nodded as he led her towards the chariot. Sometimes tributes needed glasses to see properly (and were often given contacts in the arena, as some small level of Capitol lenience), but Lucia was literally blind to the point that her world was one of blackness.

They boarded the chariots not more than a few moments after this, and even Lucia was able to hear the sounds of the District 1 chariots beginning to move. Nazir and Gabriela's chariot went next, followed by the ones from the next two districts. Only then did the horses in front of Lucia and Cadence's chariots start to move, and it was here that Cadence kept his eyes peeled for any sign of Kurai and Kuro to give him his cue. He held the prop in one of his hands and took Lucia's in his other hand. The moment he saw the two stylists among the crowds, it only took a split-second of eye contact for Cadence to flip his switch, and Lucia did the same a moment later after Cadence squeezed her hand. He liked how it felt: soft, warm, and very inviting.

There were gasps of amusement as the lights on District 5's props shone brightly. Cadence held the signs forward, and so only saw what was on them when he saw himself on one of the large screens behind the throngs of cheering Capitol citizens. It was a surprisingly colorful display of lights that formed a simple phrase: _SUPPORT DISTRICT 5_.

Cadence might have hated people, but he knew that any support that might increase the chances of him surviving to keep Lucia safe would be appreciated. Maybe he'd have to swallow that pride of his after all—if not for his sake, then for Lucia's.

The chariots continued to make their way down the square towards the President's balcony. While he was by all means very old, Coriolanus Snow was still hale and had a bit of life left in him. Most people, district or Capitol, figured that this was associated with the powerful technology that the Capitol kept for themselves in this regard. Perhaps they had even extended Snow's life. Not that they were afraid of a weak successor. Sometime between the last year and this one, word of one of Coriolanus' granddaughters, a woman named Romula Snow, had gotten out, and apparently she was just like him in terms of personality. That was all most people, including Cadence, needed to know.

His mind shifted back to the man currently pulling the strings, however, as his chariot and all eleven of the others formed a semicircle around the President's balcony. A moment later, out came the man himself to deliver his annual traditional speech. To Cadence's surprise, it wasn't exactly as long or as elaborate as he had thought, and instead was simple and rang true as they always did.

"Welcome to the 94th Annual Hunger Games." His tone was commanding, but otherwise surprisingly gentle, "And may the odds be ever in your favor."

The fanfares that had played as the tributes went from the Tribute Tower to the President's balcony began again as the chariots made their way back to the tower to return the tributes to their apartments for the evening. A lot of things were on Cadence's mind, and even Lucia had a few thoughts of her own, especially after Cadence described the visuals of the whole scenario to her. It was a reminder of a grim truth though—the games were very real, and he as well as Lucia were now a part of them.


	7. Chapter 7: The Training Center

**AUTHOR'S NOTES:** _And here we get our first glimpse of the training center. Cadence is still fixated on keeping Lucia safe, while some of the other tributes find this amusing or intriguing or some combination of the above. Whatever the case,we get another tease of this year's ensemble of tributes, and we'll get a much more detailed reveal in the next couple of chapters._  
 _Happy Reading!_

 **CHAPTER 7: The Training Center**

After the chariots returned to the Tribute Tower, the tributes were essentially locked into the building, but they had a little free reign as to where they wandered. Mentors and victors had much more freedom than they, but otherwise this was their home for the next week or so before the games took the tributes and ended the lives of 23 of them and destroyed the mental and emotional stability of the survivor.

Lucia stayed close to Cadence, not wanting to have to prod her way around to find where things were, but even as they went into the elevator, they were joined by a couple of other tributes: Serendipity had the audacity to join them instead of heading down to the training center to get a sneak peek at it the way many career tributes often did; and the golden-clad pair of tributes from District 9 of all places.

"Going up?" The girl asked the three of them somewhat rhetorically. "1 and 5, I presume?"  
"Aye," Cadence spoke up, while Serendipity nodded. The girl hit 1, 5, and 9 in that order and a few seconds later the door closed.

"Nice job in the parade by the way," Serendipity broke the silence as the elevator moved upwards, "all three of you. I'll see you around." Since her stop was the 1st floor (a floor above the ground floor where tributes congregated when going to and from the underground training center), she stepped off only after a few moments, before the elevator continued up to the 5th floor. Lucia waved goodbye as she and Cadence stepped off, and the District 9 girl went up presumably to the 9th floor.

"I still don't trust her," Cadence warned Lucia.

"It's the Hunger Games," she reminded him, "everyone will be out to kill us in a few weeks. That does not mean we should strip ourselves of all humanity so early though."

It was hard to argue with Lucia's logic, but at the same time he knew that he should not get too emotionally attached to anyone in the games, not even her. Everyone would have to die at one point, and while he would love to sacrifice his own life to ensure that Lucia returned home a victor, he knew that that was simply not in the cards unless they pulled off an upset akin to the 77th Hunger Games where a tiny 12-year-old had upset the entire nation by electrocuting seven powerful high-scoring career tributes in a single move. Cadence was confident in his skills but he knew that even he couldn't pull something like that off, especially watching after Lucia.

Still, he would protect her as long as he was able, and perhaps still even give up his life for her even if she was not the only other tribute remaining. Whatever the case though, that was all still a long ways off, for they would have at least a week of training before that came around.

Johnny and Bethany showed back up a little bit later, conversing about some of the other victors and possibly even sizing up the tributes. Cadence, being the curious fellow that he was, had to pry.

"Were you sizing up the competition or something?" he asked them.

"Not really," Johnny shrugged, "although a couple of the careers were down in the training center getting a sneak peek at what you're up for using over the next week or so. They do that pretty much every year though, so I don't imagine it's much of a cause for alarm."  
"My question is what is Lucia going to do," Bethany pointed out, "I don't exactly think they're going to cater to her just because she is blind."

"I wasn't kidding when I said I was going to defend her," Cadence asserted. "and that's exactly what I am going to do, starting tomorrow."  
"May the odds be ever in your favor then," Johnny replied. He and Bethany both knew that they weren't going to be able to shake Cadence's will, and so they figured he would learn for better or for worse by tomorrow afternoon after a few hours of training. "Just don't stay up too late. Nephenee won't hesitate to remind you that you've got a big day tomorrow that you can't exactly skip."

"I don't plan to." Cadence retreated to his room, this time leaving Lucia alone as well. He changed out of his costume, showing again to wash off the makeup and other effects, and then changing into something a little more comfortable. He knew that his mentors were right about Lucia, but what could he do? Was he supposed to just let her get ostracized by the stronger tributes and then killed in the opening seconds of the games? Cadence might have been a fierce murderer, but he was not completely without morals, and Lucia, to him, was someone worth fighting for.

The next morning, he woke up to find a neatly folded uniform at the foot of his bed. It was mostly black, although had a few red stripes, as well as the number 5 on the back and shoulders of the shirt, and on the hips of the pants just below the pockets. He got dressed with little fanfare, and to his slight surprise, found Lucia already dressed and eating breakfast. He wondered how she got around so well without a cane or some other way to guide herself, but perhaps she was keener than her gentle personality let on about. He was not afraid of betrayal (that would honestly come as quite the shock to him, actually), but he wondered if there were tricks up Lucia's sleeve that she wasn't telling him.

Perhaps he'd find out in a few minutes. They caught an elevator heading down, and found it occupied by a couple of tributes from one of the upper floors. The dark skin, red face paint, and the number 12s on their uniforms gave them away as Mani and Sudi. They both glanced at Cadence in unison before shifting their focus towards Lucia, making their way up to her glazed, milky-white eyes. Cadence glared at them threateningly, but all this made them do was raise their eyebrows in amusement. After they all stepped out at the underground training center, Lucia put a hand on Cadence's shoulder.

"They were sizing you up," Cadence warned, "probably figuring you're easy-pickings. Those painted tributes are nasty pieces of work."  
"Assuming they act like their predecessors," Lucia pointed out, "just because they come from the same place doesn't mean they're going to behave as savagely as the other Painted Tributes."  
Lucia obviously couldn't see what Mani and Sudi looked like, but Hunger Games commentators never failed to mention of a tribute was "painted" or not, and she knew of their reputations. After all, she was not given an exception from watching the games; they were just as mandatory for her as they were for anyone else, so she picked up the audio commentary to make up for her lack of visuals.

"I admire your sense of trust, Lucia," Cadence sighed, "I really do… but there's going to come a point in these games when literally everyone is out to get you. I just don't want to see you make a friend and then get stabbed in the back over it."  
"I'll be okay." She smiled. "I don't imagine my closest friend and ally will be backstabbing me any time soon." To Cadence's slight surprise, Lucia turned to him and smiled. She was talking about him. She really did have an enthrallingly beautiful smile, and Cadence couldn't help but tug at the neckline of his shirt for a moment.

"I promised I would protect you with my life, and I will keep that promise as long as humanely possible," Cadence asserted, "now come on… let's go learn some skills and size up some enemies."

Lucia did not do much training the way Cadence did, and instead she simply kept her ears open and listened to the surroundings, mentally noting whose voice sounded what way, while Cadence was more watching the visuals and sizing up the competition. The pair from District 9 actually appeared somewhat formidable this year, although that didn't necessarily mean they wouldn't still end up as bloodbath fodder when the games came. Sometimes tributes that scored as high as 9 were taken down in the opening minutes. It had happened a few times in the last couple of years even.

Cadence's preferred weapons of choice were daggers—harsh, swift, and very in-your-face, which was more or less an embodiment of his personality as a weapon. Lucia didn't really pick up very many weapons, but did spend time at one of the non-combat stations, identifying plants and other hazards for better or for worse. While he trained, Cadence's focus was not completely on what he was doing, since his other focus was on what the other tributes were up to. He was mentally noting their styles and what kind of alliances might form around him. All of this would culminate in his strategy not only to preserve himself, but at the foremost, to keep Lucia safe. He certainly had his work cut out for him…


	8. Chapter 8: The Developing Factions

**AUTHOR'S NOTES:** _This chapter delves a bit into the developing factions and alliances that are likely to form in the arena. Sure we have the usual career pack and then a few of the tributes from '12 and '11 planning something or another, but there are other groups that may or may not form as well. They're never quite the same, which keeps things interesting. Heck, one year's bloodbath fodder might be another year's victor. Time will tell. Also, there's a bit of Cadence/Lucia fluff at the end, but yeah._  
 _Happy Reading!_

 **CHAPTER 8: The Developing Factions**

There was not much to say in the name of variety as to what the tributes did in the training centers. There was plenty of variety in the facility itself, but as to where the tributes were and what they did with their days, this was more or less it. Lucia managed to convince Cadence that she didn't need him following her around the entire time. The boy stuck to himself, but kept a close and subtle eye on the other tributes. District 5 was notorious for its aura of mystery, and while Cadence was fairly open about who he was if he was required to speak, he retained this sense of mystery to him like so many others from hid district before him.

The pair from District 3 did not seem as formidable this year as they had been during the 93rd, 92nd, or 91st Hunger Games, but by contrast, the pair from District 9 did. Both Robin Destry and Fox Morrowson were seen intermingling with the careers, but also with the painted tributes from District 12 and District 11. Mani and Sudi in particular appeared to be rather threatening. Mani took up a weapon that looked like a quarterstaff and went into one of the simulation chambers. An onslaught of holograms came at him, and while he was not as fast as he looked, his moves were powerful, and he prevented himself from getting his until at least 3 or 4 dozen of the holograms had shattered all around him—something they only did when struck with a blow that would otherwise kill a normal person. The simulations these days were considerably accurate, with holograms flinching, staggering, and otherwise behaving the way a normal combatant would, only that their weapons and forms were holographic pixels instead of actual flesh and bone.

Sudi was a little different, and her fighting style was right in Cadence's ballpark. She took up a pair of knives, and Cadence swore that they had blood on them from somewhere. Maybe that explained the fresh-looking paint on her cheeks. He hoped it wasn't what he thought it was. Mani had them too, but Cadence hadn't pieced it together till he saw the knives. He quickly forgot about it once he saw Sudi in action, however. Fierce and lightning-swift, her savage fighting style matched her wild appearance. She wasn't even wearing any shoes, although that part had Cadence more tilting his head in confusion more than anything. He'd definitely have a few questions about the other districts when he got back to Bethany and Johnny later that evening.

The lunch break was fairly quiet in comparison, with most tributes sticking to their own district. Nazir and Gabriela joined Faren and Serendipity, and nearby, Fox and Robin found seats close by. Was there going to be an alliance between Districts 1, 2, and 9 this year? Cadence liked to entertain the idea that they would be fodder like they were the last few years in a row, although even Lucia seemed to think otherwise when she heard of this.

"Don't try to discount them just because of their district's reputation," she warned, "Remember that behind the careers, District 5 has produced the most victors… and yet here I am."  
"Don't say things like that," Cadence growled, "I'm not going to let them kill you."

Lucia decided not to push the topic any further, knowing that Cadence would not likely be convinced. It was certainly not to say that she was about to just lie down and die, but she knew that with formidable enemies like Mani, Sudi, Xandra, Kilon, Nazir, Gabriela, and Serendipity, to name but a few, that she would likely be seen as easy pickings. The notion of private sessions in less than a week's time didn't help her case either, since she was fairly certain that she would score low. She was a friend and a healer; not a fighter. Her title of "District Sweetheart" had not come from her legendary fighting skills, after all.

While Cadence was kind of expecting the worst at this point, it seemed that the careers were not actually paying attention to them. Three of them returned with most of the others to the training center, although Serendipity remained behind, even after Cadence and Lucia had left.

The pair from District 9 both glanced her way, and she knew what this was all about.

"Maybe it's just me and my poor eyesight," she chortled, "but it looks like '9 might actually have a chance of not being bloodbath fodder this time around."

"That's more or less the goal here," Robin quipped, "Granted, I imagine that's the goal every year, albeit with limited success."  
"Ah!" Serendipity laughed, "Now you I like. I cannot say that an alliance with the career pack is assured, but if you're willing to make a deal of some sorts, I'm listening."  
"There's not exactly much we can offer except potentially decent training scores." Fox pointed out, "I mean, we're not about to try and protect you guys if you won't offer us the same luxury, but if you're proposing a sort of truce in the arena, by all means, keep talking."  
"That can be arranged." Serendipity smiled. "I'll keep my buddies off of your backs, and all you two need to do is not turn against me till later in the games."  
"That's a pretty bold risk you're taking," Fox raised an eyebrow. "What if we betray you?"  
"Then I made a stupid decision," Serendipity laughed, "We all die eventually. I don't exactly want these to be my final days, but if you're as paranoid as that District 5 fellow, you're not bound to get much done anywhere."

"We'll consider the offer," Robin indicated, "we've got 5 more days of training and then private sessions. Odds are you'll get our support."

"Excellent." Serendipity beamed. "I'll see you guys out there." With that she left the District 9 pair to their own devices, and they promptly turned around and had a discussion of sorts with Kilon and Xandra from District 11. There were definitely factions beginning to form on this opening day, and those who were not parts of Districts 1, 2, 9, 11, or 12 were likely going to be in trouble if these were successful.

It was later in the evening when Lucia and Cadence returned to their apartment for the evening, and Cadence wasted little time asking Johnny about the tributes, for the mentors often watched the tributes from a distance (presumably some room with one-way glass or something, but Cadence was not entirely sure), and then offered advice on what to watch out for from a wider point of view.

"As threatening as the careers are, I'm actually more worried about the kids from the outer districts," Johnny warned, "I don't know what they do down there in District 12, but those painted tributes are always scary little bastards to square off against. Sometimes there's one of them, other times two; it seems to be a particular section of the district they come from… the really poor kids come from a place called the Seam, the better-off ones come from the central quadrants… the Painted ones come from some outskirt area near the fences if I recall correctly. Don't cite me or anything on this; it's just the stuff I remember hearing from Everdeen a few years back."

"So are Mani and Sudi the largest threats?" Lucia asked.

"I wouldn't say largest… just the scariest." Johnny noted, "I think the pair from District 11 are more formidable enemies."  
"And what about District 9?" Cadence had not followed them around all day by any means, but he had seen them interacting peaceably with both the career pack and the outlier tributes, which raised red flags all over the place for him.

"I saw them interacting with a lot of the other tributes." Bethany warned, "either they are just overly amiable and extroverted, or they are or they're really adamant about securing alliances. It would makes sense given their district's history of often being bloodbath fodder, but with the things I saw them doing today, I don't think they'll be as likely to die in the bloodbath as some of their predecessors."

"Wonderful," Cadence sighed. He made a mental note to watch them closely, but at this point he kind of felt like he was watching everyone. He decided to retire to his room for a while to try and get his thoughts sorted out. He was a little surprised when he was joined by Lucia.

"I know what you're thinking…" she whispered, setting her arm on his shoulder.

"Hmm?" Cadence didn't look up, his face almost buried in his lap, and his hands clutching his hair.

"You're worried about me." She continued. "And it feels to you like everyone in that training center is out to get us in the arena."  
"Lucia…" Cadence sighed, "See… it's things like this that make me want to keep you alive. Maybe it's just me, but it's… strange. You care about me… when I'm not really someone to care about. Most people don't treat me like that, Lucia. I… thank you."  
"Any time," Lucia smiled, one of her hands reaching in and softly clutching Cadence's curls, "seriously, Cadence… talk to me any time."


	9. Chapter 9: Truce and Allegiance

**AUTHOR'S NOTES:** _While District 9 might have a reputation of being cannon fodder in my AU and many of my stories, this year is fixing to be a little different. I can tell you right now that some of the characters that have already been named will die in the bloodbath, and so Fox and Robin might not make it out of there alive. Or maybe they will. Who knows?_  
 _Happy Reading!_

 **CHAPTER 9: Truce and Allegiance**

Lucia and Cadence turned in early that night, but for a long time Cadence lay there awake, contemplating the upcoming Hunger Games. He thought about Lucia, and how wonderful of a person she was—not just to him, but to everyone she met, it seemed. Perhaps this was what District 5 meant when they called her the District Sweetheart. The thought made him seethe slightly more in anger at the fact that no one volunteered to come to her rescue. Where were the days of District 5's formidable volunteer tributes and their chain of victors? They still had the highest non-career victor count in all of Panem, and the 3rd highest victor count overall. Cadence did not want that to slip away—otherwise District 3 or District 11 might outstrip them. Considering they had eight victors whilst District 5 had nine, all it would take was two little wins and the victor drought on '5 to continue for it all to change. It made him uncomfortable when he thought about it, but knew that he could change that record.

Whatever the case, Cadence woke up the next morning and was surprised when he did not see Lucia at breakfast. He wasted no time in asking Bethany where she had gone.

"She was up about an hour ago," the mentor indicated, "and I think she's already down at the training center. She said something about wanting to get an early start or whatnot."

Cadence wondered if she was just trying to get away from him, and so he ate quickly before heading down to the training center to see who was there. It was fairly early, and so not everyone was present just yet, but Lucia was there, and she seemed to have a remarkably powerful swinging arm. Her weapons of choice were light daggers or shortswords, and Cadence was skeptical about how accurate she might be with them in actual combat, but he watched her with a sense of amazement before finally approaching her. Most of the other tributes, contrary to Cadence's fears, were minding their own business rather than whispering behind his (or Lucia's) back.

"Lucia," he spoke up, causing the blonde-haired girl to freeze for a second and then turn around to face him. "Sorry I'm late."  
"Don't worry," she smiled, "I wasn't here early to get away from you or anything. I just woke up early and felt like I might as well just get my day started."

Cadence nodded, but it made sense. Perhaps she had fallen asleep immediately unlike him, who had been awake tossing and turning for at least an hour or two after crawling into bed.

"Have you used these knives before?" he asked. Every tribute had to start somewhere, and so even if she had never touched a weapon in her life, that didn't necessarily mean she was too hopeless. If victors were determined solely by how much training they had received before the games, the entire victors' pool would consist of tributes from District 1 and District 2, with occasional folks from District 3 or District 5; maybe a rebellious District 12 renegade or two or something as well.  
"Only a few times," Lucia admitted, "but otherwise not really. I'm a befriender, not a fighter."

Cadence sighed, for he knew that as well as she did. Still, it relieved him to know that there was at least some level of fighting spirit in her. She had been so accepting of her fate on the train, and so it surprised him for the better when he realized that she was not about to just lay down and die.

Today during lunch, the pair from District 5 were surprised when they found themselves surrounded both by the tributes from District 11, as well as Mani and Sudi from District 12.

"Can I help you with something?" He asked.

"We're just here to propose a truce." Xandra was the one to speak. "I don't want to say formal alliance because you probably know as well as we do how easily the tables will turn. But our alliance will leave yours alone as long as possible, especially if the pair from '9 are lining up with Serendipity."

"What kind of alliance do they have?" Lucia tilted her head.

"It's hard to tell at this point," Mani shrugged, "the others haven't interacted with '9 too much from what we've seen, but Serendipity definitely has something going for them."  
Cadence was silent as he listened to the conversation, but mentally took in every bit of information these kids (as well as Lucia) were saying.

"So how is that going to work in the bloodbath?" Lucia asked.

"Just make sure you don't run into the fray too swiftly," Kilon shrugged, "maybe your buddy can keep you out of the careers' line of sight."

"I'll do whatever I can to ensure her safety during that time," Cadence promised.  
"See? You're set to go." Xandra smiled. "I mean, sure there are private sessions and interviews which may shift some scales and odds a bit, and the arena's going to make or break how well some tributes do, but if the career pack has an informal alliance with District 9, I see no reason why we can't offer an informal alliance with District 5. You in?"

"I'm in," Cadence nodded, "mostly for Lucia. If Fox and Robin are only in it to save Serendipity's hide, then if you have to choose which of us to watch over, choose her."

"Cadence, I…" Lucia sighed. She didn't feel offended by Cadence's words; she just did not like him speaking the way he did about his own life.

"Well, after the bloodbath and the first couple of days, everything's more or less fair game," Mani indicated, "8 or 10 or so tributes will die in the bloodbath, and after a couple days it'll be down to about 11 or 12 tributes unless they do another arena where we all freeze to death; but otherwise I don't quite think they'll toe district lines that conveniently."  
"Also…" Sudi warned, "Watch out for Ratchet."

"Ratchet?" Lucia tried mentally processing that name but was not sure where it was from."  
"District 3," Kilon answered, "never trust a girl named Ratchet."

The plucky pair from District 3 seemed to be mostly keeping to themselves this year according to most of the other tributes' observations. It was unclear why the careers didn't approach them, for they appeared to be just as competent as the ones last year and the year before, both of which were years that District 3 aligned itself with District 2. Three years earlier it had also included District 4, and so the idea of a career pack that was "too large" was not on the books. Perhaps Faren and Serendipity knew something about them that Lucia, Cadence, and the others didn't.

Whatever the case, Cadence left the lunchroom with the truce from Kilon, Xandra, Mani, and Sudi fresh on his mind. Lucia went back to practicing with her knives, while Cadence started to follow Serendipity around. He did not trust that girl and knew her to be dangerous. However, the biggest reason he was so suspicious of her was because he couldn't shake this nagging feeling that she was the one who was going to kill Lucia at some point. He obviously had no way of knowing for sure, but he knew that whoever tried killing her would face the full brunt of his wrath.

"Maybe it's just me," Gabriela quipped, "but I think that District 5 boy has an eye for you."  
"He wouldn't be the only one if he is," Faren winked. "I've seen your legs, Seren."

"More than half the country saw my legs a couple nights ago," Serendipity laughed, "you'll have to come up with a better excuse than that."

"I like the nickname though," Nazir quipped, "saying 'Serendipity' all the time is kind of a mouthful."  
"Oh it's not that bad," Serendipity laughed, "but I don't think we need to make this about my name when I believe a certain someone challenged me to a sparring match a moment ago, hmm?"  
"That I did," Faren stepped forward, rolling his shoulders and cracking his knuckles. "You're on."  
Serendipity twisted her neck, rolling her shoulders and then took a deep breath. "At your ready, Faren."

Faren proved to be surprisingly swift, although Serendipity seemed to have that over him. He struck harder, but she struck faster, and ended up linking together a series of hits that led into a sort of judo throw that obviously took the boy off of his feet. She offered her hand once all was said and done, and helped Faren back to his feet.

"I underestimated you," he chuckled, "at least this time."  
"We've still got 5 more days for you to practice up and try again." She giggled, "I'm not some legendary unbeatable sensei or anything."

Cadence focused on his training, shutting out most of the external noise, including from the careers. He was fixated on his goal, and dedicated to bringing it to pass. What he did not realize, however, was that while he might not have been paying attention, his partner had rather keen hearing—and she was listening to everything the careers said to one another.


	10. Chapter 10: The Scores

**AUTHOR'S NOTES:** _Like in all other installments of the 'Fire Without a Spark' series, the highlight of the 10th chapter is the scores. There's also a bit of discussion and whatever else as Cadence deals with his concerns and Lucia addresses her own._  
 _Happy Reading!_

 **CHAPTER 10: The Scores**

The week of training passed by remarkably quickly when all was said and done, and soon Cadence and Lucia were eating breakfast the day of the private sessions. This was the last day of training, and later that evening, they would be personally interviewed by Caesar Flickerman himself, Cadence wasn't worried about Lucia for that part. He knew what angle Kurai and Kuro would go for her there, and he was fairly certain that the Capitol would love her—perhaps a bit too much.

Whatever the case, he and Lucia wandered down to the training center, watching the various tributes line up by District, with Faren leading the pack. Some of the lower districts hasn't shown up, and so Cadence watched eventually as the tributes from District 11 and District 12 populated the bench, with Sudi at the end of the line to finish off the private sessions.

It took a couple hours to get through the first four districts before District 5 was called up.

" _Cadence Montoya, District 5!"_

"Stay safe, Lucia," he took the girl's hand as he stood up.

"You'll do well in there," she whispered, pecking him on the cheek as if in reassurance. Cadence smiled and entered the room, not really worrying about his score as much as Lucia's. He glanced up at the Head Gamemaker, a small but imposing little woman who used to stand out because of the large wings on her back. This year, however, it seemed that she had taken on a different look, with blue clothing and certainly frills in her hair that gave her an aquatic vibe. Her ears were still pointed, however. The woman was always an extravagant example of Capitol fashion, and Cadence didn't think any different. Her voice, however, was a lot calmer and gentler than he expected.  
"Welcome to the 94th Annual Hunger Games, Cadence Montoya," she smiled down at him, "you have 15 minutes to present your chosen skills. Begin!"

Cadence's demonstrations were fairly simple and to-the-point, as he wielded knives to great effect. The kicker was that he was a fierce fighter, causing damage to the dummies he attacked. While he might not have had a very athletic frame at first glance, it was clear that the fiery-haired boy was much stronger and faster than he looked; he was definitely a fighter. The ferocity of this boy was something that the Gamemakers remarked about amongst themselves and out of his earshot, but it was clear that his antics had attracted their attention.

However, 15 minutes eventually passed, and he took a bow as he was dismissed from the room. He passed Lucia and smiled, still a little heavy on breath.

"Show 'em what you're made of, Lucia…" he whispered as her name was called out. He returned to their apartment to wait for Lucia's return, and subsequently the reveal of the scores later that afternoon.

About 20 minutes after Cadence had returned to the 5th floor to wait for the other tributes to finish their training, Lucia showed up, seeming content.

"How'd you do?" Cadence was the first one to ask, although Bethany and Johnny showed their faces a few moments later, "did you show them what was what?"  
"I showed them who I was," Lucia smiled. "I'm a helper, not a fighter."  
"Well…" Cadence scratched his head. "I… guess that's good?"

"Low scores do not always mean bloodbath fodder," Johnny pointed out, "there was a kid who won the games with a 3. Aveline a few years ago won with a 5. Sure she might have held back a bit, but there's no real telling what Lucia might have done."  
"What's your point?" Cadence frowned.

"The point is," Bethany answered, "don't get discouraged yet. We'll have the scores in a few hours after the rest of the districts have their turns."

Sure enough, in came Nephenee to turn on the television a few hours later after Mani and Sudi had done their things and returned to their floors to wait for their scores. Cadence and Lucia jumped onto the sofa to watch (or in Lucia's case, listen) to the Capitol announce the scores for all 24 tributes.

" _Faren Dumar; District 1, with a score of… 10"_

"Welp, that's about standard fare for the careers, I'd say." Bethany pointed out.

" _Serendipity Li; District 1, with a score of… 12"_

"I knew that girl was going to be trouble though," Cadence frowned, glancing towards Lucia. She did not say anything, but nodded as if to acknowledge Cadence's words.

" _Nazir Mateaki; District 2, with a score of… 11"_

"A sizable force," Johnny indicated, looks like you kids have your work cut out for you."

" _Gabriela Sanchez; District 2, with a score of… 9"_

"That's a lot lower than usual," Lucia pointed out, "Korra last year scored an 11. Amy and Chel from the two years before scored a 12."

" _Chase Rebiana; District 3, with a score of… 8"_

"Aveline also scored a 5, and she knifed a career boy that scored a 9 in the bloodbath." Johnny reminded them, "don't take the scores too seriously. It's really more just to scare tributes and to appease the gamblers; little more."

" _Ratchet Caseres; District 3, with a score of… 8"_

"Never trust a Ratchet though," Bethany warned, "just… trust us on that one."

" _Andraz DelRio; District 4, with a score of… 10"_

"If you say so." Cadence nodded, growing quiet as he anticipated his score as well as Lucia's.

" _Isabela Vikta; District 4, with a score of… 9"_

"We do," Johnny agreed. Cadence nodded and then all but held his breath at this point.

" _Cadence Montoya; District 5, with a score of… 11"_

"Well… someone fought hard." Bethany nodded in approval.

"I did what I had to in order to survive and protect Lucia." Cadence asserted.

" _Lucia Alzar; District 5, with a score of… 4"_

"Aaaand, she's definitely going to need it." He groaned a moment later.

" _Chad Xela; District 6, with a score of… 7"_

"Cadence…" Lucia sighed, "this isn't about me." _  
"Shay Nuvas; District 6, with a score of… 6"_

"Did you even try in there, Lucia?" Cadence frowned. I saw you in the training center. You were pretty good with those knives if I recall." _  
"Solas Drazen; District 7, with a score of… 7"_

"What do I need to show them?" Lucia shrugged, "Let them think I'm weak. Perhaps it will be different when we meet on the field of battle. There's no reason for them to know everything about the little blind girl right away."

" _Elspeth Sylvan; District 7, with a score of… 8"_

"So you pulled an Aveline then?" Johnny raised an eyebrow.

" _Verde Salazar; District 8, with a score of… 8"_

"I suppose that's one way to put it," Lucia shrugged, "although it wasn't like I was about to score a 13 out of 12 or anything."

" _Camilla Shao; District 8, with a score of… 5"_

"Well again, relax." Johnny advised them, "The scores are mostly just numbers."

" _Robin Destry; District 9, with a score of… 9"_

"Numbers, eh?" Cadence frowned, "District 9's not likely to be cannon fodder this year."

" _Fox Morrowson; District 9, with a score of… 10"_

"They could still be," Bethany pointed out, "tributes that scored 10s have still been killed in the bloodbath. It might rely on District 12 or something though."

" _Brody LaHir; District 10, with a score of… 6"_

"Should I be worried about those two painted tributes then?" Cadence asked.

" _Alissa Zinder; District 10, with a score of… 9"_

"Probably to a degree," Bethany nodded, "they haven't won, but they've scarred and terrified some of the victors before."

" _Kilon Sotega; District 11, with a score of… 9"_

"District 11 is usually formidable too, as you'll notice." Johnny added.

" _Xandra Kanosh; District 11, with a score of… 12"_

"Really formidable in this case," he continued. "Definitely watch out for them."

" _Mani Tauanu'u; District 12, with a score of… 7"_

"So District 11 and District 12 are trouble then." Cadence raised an eyebrow

" _Sudi Ontanago; District 12, with a score of… 8"_

"It seems like it, this year." Bethany agreed, "Something tells me that Mani and Sudi weren't exactly putting their all into their private session efforts this year."  
"Ah, Bethany the prophetess," Johnny playfully taunted.

"I'd rather take her word than take my chances," Cadence asserted. "So what happens now?"  
"Now…" Nephenee grinned, "We wait a few minutes for this to settle and a few other bettors and sponsors to sort things out, and then it's time to get dressed again."  
"Don't worry," Johnny chuckled, "these are more of actual outfits rather than costumes."  
"Well, I can't say I'd mind seeing Serendipity in her underwear again," Cadence quipped. "It'd at least be a decent image to leave in my mind before I kill her if she tries touching Lucia."

"Don't put all your money on her being the only one to try and kill me," Lucia warned, "First off, like you said, I'm not about to roll over and die, and secondly, everyone is an enemy in the arena. Even if you take out Serendipity in the opening minutes, that doesn't mean no one else might threaten me."

"She's the one that keeps eyeing you though," Cadence frowned. "I still think you need to avoid her."

Lucia sighed and did not respond. It was not to say that she trusted Serendipity in a death tournament, but at the same time, she thought Cadence was overthinking it. Whatever the case, now as the time for them to flush those thoughts at least for a little while, because Nephenee had just left the room—which meant that odds were she'd be coming back in with Kurai and Kuro in tow.


	11. Chapter 11: Complimentary Colors

**AUTHOR'S NOTES:** _I apologize for the lack of a chapter last week. Things happened, I was sick, and that kind of thing, so I wasn't able to write the chapter (Victors' Chronicles was already written). Anyhoo, now I can, and so here it is. From here all we have is the interviews and the final goodbyes before our tributes get chucked into the arena, so strap in and brace yourself. Things get a lot crazier and harsher from here on out._  
 _Happy Reading!_

 **CHAPTER 11: Complimentary Colors**

Unlike with the parade outfitting, Cadence's mind was a lot deeper in thought this time around, and so perhaps Kurai would get a better taste of who Cadence was as a person. Of course, it wouldn't be complete without Nephenee giving them fanfare.

"Well now that the scores are done and over with," she cooed, "now it's time for one final game of dress-up!" Cadence naturally didn't follow her level of bubbliness, but Lucia seemed eager enough. It also seemed that Kurai and Kuro had a few quips of their own armed and ready.

"Do you plan on biting again?" Kurai offered, "because if you planned to, I'd recommend saving it for the arena. A score like that will get you far."  
"Maybe I was mad at the wrong person," Cadence grunted, "don't get too smug now."

"Darling," Kuro cooed, "we're here to help you, not antagonize you. And tonight… we're here to make you look good. Do you want another District 5 victor? Because we do."

"And we're here to help make it happen." Kurai added, "Sponsor gifts have turned the game for or against tributes before, and that's our goal here. Don't worry… these outfits are much less flambouyant and over-the-top than the ones you wore during the parade."  
Cadence still seemed a bit grudging to do it, but he rose up and followed Lucia, Kurai, and Kuro out of the apartment and down to the basement studios where they would be cleaned up and dressed up one last time.

"So what look are you going for this time?" Cadence asked the spiky-haired man. He was actually impressed with how long this man's hair was (for it rivalled Kuro's, albeit was spikier and less curly) and wondered if he styled it himself.

"It's tricky," he began, "that red hair is a challenge to find something that matches it. Don't worry though—I think I've got just the thing."

Cadence stripped down and soon Kurai was already outfitting him in shades of black, orange, and red. He liked that Kurai was quiet and professional when he worked, and despite his tendency to feel awkward at all the wrong times, he didn't feel awkward as his stylist did his thing. The slacks and dress shirt were mostly black, although had small streaks of shimmering red and orange (mostly red) swirling about them in elaborate patterns. Other than a red-orange band around the soles, his shoes were entirely black, and so was his belt. The outfit was topped off with a fiery orange tie very close in color to Cadence's wild curls. Kurai spent several minutes trying to style the boy's hair, and while he was unable to fully tame the curls, he managed to give Cadence a "wet-hair" look that caused his hair to hang lank and appear oddly attractive—even to Cadence. The look was topped off with dark red eyeshadow and light swirls of orange glitter on his cheeks. He wasn't familiar with most Capitol methods, but most male tributes often wore makeup during the parade and the interviews as well, and so ultimately Cadence did not feel very bothered by it.

"Feel free to have a look," Kurai offered once he had finished dressing Cadence up. The boys were usually finished slightly sooner than the girls because of the tendency for slacks and suits to be simpler or easier to design than dresses and gowns. Still, as Cadence admired himself in the mirror, he was surprised at how well Kurai had made the black, red, and orange all mesh together in a dazzling array of intricate color combinations. He couldn't help but nod approvingly.

"You do a good job," Cadence admitted, "I… may not have appreciated you as much as I should have. It doesn't make these games anything better than what they are, but I do want to apologize for my harsh actions towards you before the parade."  
"It's not as rare as you think," Kurai shrugged, "there's no harm done, but thank you for the apology. I really didn't think you were as harsh as you came off as being."  
"I could be," Cadence warned, "I'd have no qualms against murdering anyone who posed a threat to me or Lucia."  
"Of that I have no doubt," Kurai nodded, "I look forward to seeing your performance in the arena tomorrow." While in other contexts it would be easy for Cadence to assume that he was referring to something related to a bet, he didn't assume that with Kurai.

"I've gotta keep Lucia safe," Cadence asserted. "I must."

One studio over, Kuro and Lucia were having a pleasant conversation as well. Lucia was as cooperative this time as she had been the previous time, and Kuro thought the whole thing was rather cute.

"You're really quite the sweetheart, darling," Kuro sighed, "it makes me sad that they're going to put you in that arena tomorrow."

"I would love to not have to go…" Lucia confessed, "but there is nothing I can really do about it, so I just need to make the best of it and hope that I can win."  
"Even then… your friend seems pretty fixated on bringing you home though," Kuro pointed out as she started dressing Lucia up in shades of vibrant blues and cyans, "perhaps it's possible?"  
"I don't imagine Cadence would want to turn against me if we were the final two," Lucia shook her head, "but sooner or later they will come for me, and I don't think me nor him will be able to prevent at least one of us dying. Maybe there's still hope though."  
"Nonsense, dear," Kuro put her hands gently on Lucia's lower jaws, "you have to look at it from a positive perspective. You can survive, and you *will* survive. Even if it might not be true, you tell yourself that anyways. Don't ever give up, darling. I know you have a fighting spirit in you."  
"How do you know that?" Lucia's tone remained calm.

"Because if you truly had given up, you would have scored a zero, not a four;" Kuro explained, "or a one, perhaps. A lot of tributes don't know it, but the private sessions are technically completely optional. A District 5 girl a few years ago… year 83, I think, decided not to try at all. She scored a 0. You went in, and you scored a 4. Anyways, love, my point is that you might be down, but you're not out. And while I know you can't see it, I want you to know that the outfit I'm putting you in is going to make you straight0up shine out there."

"Oh?" Lucia always liked being described when possible, "could you tell me a bit about it?"  
"When I finish, I will." Kuro promised, helping Lucia don a few accessories before she started working on the girl's hair, "no point in showing you a half-done masterpiece when you can witness the full glory of the master's touch within a few minutes."

True to her word, Kuro took a few minutes to finish adorning Lucia in her interview outfit, and then announced that she was finished. Lucia's expression lit up.

"How do I look?" she bobbed up and down on her toes. "How do I look?"

"You are adorned in beautiful shades of blue, much like the sky." Kuro began explaining, "the fabric is translucent in a few places to show off your form, but it remains modest." Kuro moved her hands along Lucia's arms, and also motioned with Lucia's hands that parts of her legs had the same treatment.

"I thought about coloring your hair," Kuro continued, "but the golden locks go so well with the shoes and the golden hems of your outfit. Other than that, there's just one more thing I nearly forgot!"

Lucia's face was adorned with certain levels of makeup much like Cadence's, but perhaps to serve as a subtle reminder of Lucia's blindness or just to add a further element of mystery to the girl, Kuro put a glitzy blue masquerade mask over the upper half of her face. Her pearly white eyes almost shimmered through the eyeholes, and with a grin, Kuro stepped back to admire her now completed work.

"Now…" she beamed, "you best get out there. I would hate to make you late!"

Lucia scampered out of the studio, nearly running into Cadence when she emerged. He had to stop and do a double-take when he saw her.

"Damn…" he muttered, "you're gorgeous."

And even after seeing Serendipity, who looked genuinely dazzling (and it was no mystery that her stylists were giving her a downright sexy angle and approach), he did not change his mind at all. The simplistic but elegant beauty that was Lucia at this moment shone brighter to him than any of the careers or the other tributes. The dark colors that Mani and Sudi wore got his attention for a moment though. Cadence couldn't help but wonder who he would need to watch out for the most, and he remained silently in thought about this for several minutes as the others conversed around him. This train of thought was only disrupted when the tributes heard the Serendipity Li's name called out, thus beginning the interviews. With a smirk, she strode away from the others, her hips swaying with each step, and soon appeared on stage and had a seat beside Caesar Flickerman. The interviews had begun.


	12. Chapter 12: Words on a Stage

**AUTHOR'S NOTES:** _And here are the interviews, in the final night before the actual games kick off. Considering that Cadence is not exactly eloquent and because of the interviews I wanted to cover, I don't actually divulge the full transcripts this time, but hopefully what I provide instead is a suitable alternative._  
 _Happy Reading!_

 **CHAPTER 12: Words on a Stage**

Serendipity took the stage, and it was clear from the way the crowds cheered her on that she was already a popular choice. A few coy gestures, a charming smile, and some choice movements and words had the audience fawning over her before Caesar had even begun. The host was old, but still hale. Cadence frankly wondered what was keeping him going. Considering the man had first been instated during the 35th Hunger Games, he was clearly at least 80 or 90 at this point, but with the vibrant look of his hair and suit, coupled with the liveliness of his voice and the notoriety of that smile of his, and he hardly looked a day older than 35.

Whatever the case, the interviewing had begun, and so other than a few hushed whispers from the District 11 and District 12 tributes, most everyone was silent as they listened to what Serendipity had to say. She made a few comments about being stoked for the games and how despite that it was just business. She also made a surprising reference to the District 1 girl from the previous year.

"There wasn't a single man, woman, or child alive that didn't know Vivian Nelson," Serendipity sighed, "She was a great example and role model to aspire to. I try to be like her, but I doubt I'd ever be as cool as she was."

Cadence was surprised at this humble admission. He assumed that she might have just been trying to butter Caesar up and earn Capitol approval, but the more they talked, the more it seemed that Serendipity was being sincere. It was hard for him to trust her, but maybe he was overthinking it. He'd ask Lucia about it after all the interviews had concluded. She always seemed to have an unbiased opinion on these types of things.

Faren's interview was fairly similar except he was a little more like the usual stock that came out of District 1. He was much less intriguing than his partner, and also much less worrisome. Lucia seemed to realize this, and called him out on it.

"You know," she warned in whispers, "often times it's the one you fear the least that turns out to be the most dangerous. Conversely, the one you fear the most will not likely do you in."  
"I'm not worried about them doing me in," Cadence pointed out, "I'm worried about them getting you."  
"If it's any consolation, I'll make sure to be careful around her then." Lucia shrugged.

Cadence nodded, and listened in on Gabriela and then Nazir. Both of them were fairly similar to one another insomuch that both of them were cool and collected, but also seemed rather ruthless. While Nazir said something similar in his interview, Gabriela's words during her time with Caesar stuck more with Cadence since she said it first.

"It's nothing personal," the dark-skinned girl shrugged, "the Hunger Games are just business."

Even with that thought in mind, Cadence couldn't help but take things personally. If he was alive when someone killed Lucia, he would swear vengeance and make sure whoever made this mistake of killing her died at his hand. He didn't even care what became of himself after that. Lucia gave him a sense of purpose in these games, and while no one else believed him, he was fixated on bringing her home to the point of obsessing over it.

His internal thoughts made him miss most of Chase's interview, but he caught Ratchet's. Caesar said something rather interesting, and even more interesting was Ratchet's reply.

"So there was apparently a saying circulating through the Tribute Tower this week…" he began.

"Oh?" Ratchet raised an eyebrow, her metallic silver dress shimmering with even the slightest movement. "This I've gotta hear."

"Apparently the saying was 'Never trust a Ratchet'." Caesar explained, "How does that make you feel?"  
"They're just mad because they know that District 3 will outsmart them like we always do." Ratchet laughed, "there's a reason we've got the 2nd highest non-career success rate, and the 4th highest success rate overall, you know."  
Cadence felt slightly vindicated in knowing that other than Districts 1 and 2, the only other district that did better than District 3 in terms of victors thus far was his own home of District 5. Still, even he knew about how wily District 3 tributes could be, especially when they were bold enough to side with the careers. He was pretty sure neither Chase nor Ratchet had done so this year, but he also knew that even the 8s the two had gotten as their training scores weren't enough to really pass final judgment on.

Andraz and Isabela from District 4 disappeared next, and before Cadence knew it, it was his turn.

This was going to be fun.

He was not nearly as awkward as he had originally figured he would be. The conversations kind of were, considering that most of his responses were either one or two word remarks most of the time. However, he did manage to get an amused reaction from the crowd after Flickerman asked him how he felt about representing District 5 in the games.

"I go in and I stab people." Cadence grunted, "I think my role is rather clear."

This surprisingly garnered a lot of support, but perhaps that was to be expected considering the Capitol's fondness of the violent pageant that was the Hunger Games. That was definitely Cadence's stand-out moment though, for the rest of the interview went by without much else in terms of events.  
"Ladies and gentlemen…" Caesar announced as Cadence rose to his feet. "Cadence Montoya, District 5!"

That was his cue for dismissal. A moment later, he heard Lucia's name called, and so he stuck around, with full intention of hearing out her interview.

Lucia won the crowds over more than Serendipity by the time all was said and done. Her gentle, sweet, and genuine nature had the crowds swooning over the "District Sweetheart". Her response to Caesar's question about that title basically confirmed it.

"I don't know where it came from," Lucia shrugged, "I just like to help people and listen to them when they need an ear. It's common decency, if you ask me."

Once Lucia was dismissed, she rejoined with Cadence, and the two of them remained backstage on the opposite side of the stage from the remaining tributes, so they could be alone (he did not know if the tributes from Districts 1-4 stuck around, had disappeared into the audiences, or had gone back to their apartments; he did not really care either).

"Did you need something?" Lucia offered.

"I…" Cadence began, "maybe after the interviews. I'm curious about Mani and Sudi, but I don't want to lose you in the meantime."  
"I'm not going anywhere, Cadence." Lucia assured him. "let's just wait it out."  
And so that was what they did. Kilon and Xandra's remarks sounded a lot like the usual remarks to come out of District 11, and neither one was terribly eloquent. It reminded him of himself, which made him chuckle. Perhaps District 11 could be allies or at least have a kind of truce with District 5. Cadence was willing to go to great lengths to ensure Lucia's safety in that arena.

Sudi's voice was remarkably low, but she seemed surprisingly eloquent, and warned the Capitol of the types of devious tricks that District 12 got up to. It almost seemed like an underhanded warning of rebellion, but if it was, either no one caught it, or no one commented about it. It was true that the district was dangerously close to flat-out rebelling, but it was also true that tributes from District 12, particularly those of the "Painted" variety, were notoriously dangerous in the arenas, despite that most of them didn't win. It was almost like they didn't even care about winning, and that they were just there to further leave an impression.

"What a frightening prospect…" Lucia whispered as Sudi and Mani essentially admitted exactly that, "they're just here to wreak havoc? Do they not care about winning?"  
"I think they do," Cadence muttered, "but they're devoted to their antics, and know that eventually the survivors will try to gang up on them. It has happened more than people realize."  
"Well, you definitely don't have to tell me more than once to stay clear of them," Lucia reassured him. "I'll stay as close to you as I can tomorrow, Cadence. You know that, right?"  
"I assumed as much, but your words are comforting to hear, Lucia." Cadence whispered. "Thank you."  
As Mani left the stage and thus brought an end to the interview session for the evening, the District 5 pair returned to the elevator to have dinner and then get ready for bed. For all but one of the children in this tower, this was the last night they would sleep comfortably in their lives. Within less than 11 or 12 hours, probably about 9 or 10 of them would be dead in their own blood. It was a weird realization, but both Lucia and Cadence accepted it at this point: the 94th Annual Hunger Games would start tomorrow.


	13. Chapter 13: Escape from the Bloodbath

**AUTHOR'S NOTES:** _And now we reach the Hunger Games proper. Those who read the 94th chapter of The Victors' Chronicles might already have a heads-up of what might happen, but a summarized version does not hold a candle to the full version which will be found here. Either way, let the 94th Annual Hunger Games begin._  
 _Happy Reading!_

 **PART II: THE GAMES**

 **CHAPTER 13: Escape from the Bloodbath**

There was very little that either of the District 5 tributes had to say to one another that was not either already said or that was conveyed through body language. Cadence was naturally worried about Lucia's fate, but Lucia was rather calm about it all.

"Stay close to me," Cadence begged her, "I will keep you alive."  
"I will do what I can," Lucia responded, "for while I accept that this is likely where I will see my end, I cannot say in any degree of honesty that I would like to die."  
"Then don't talk like that," Cadence seized her wrist. "You are only ready to die if you end up lying mortally wounded at the end of another tribute's blade. So no more of that nonsense, alright, Lucia? I won't allow it."

Lucia nodded, seemingly convinced by Cadence's argument. "We should get some rest," she suggested, "tomorrow's the first day of the end of our lives as we know them."

"Fair point," Cadence frowned, but he knew she was right. Right as he was about to part ways, however, he felt a pair of lips on his cheek, which froze him up immediately. He cocked his head towards Lucia immediately, and saw her smile as she disappeared into her bedroom. Cadence blushed, but returned to his room to get changed and get some rest. It was only a matter of hours before anywhere between 8 and 14 of the boys and girls in this building would be dead. He did not want himself or Lucia being among these.

Cadence woke up the next morning feeling refreshed physically, but already stressed with a certain level of fear for what was to come. He was not worried about himself. He was fierce and good with a knife; he knew he could handle himself out there and that unless he was ganged up on, that the others were not likely to end his life in the bloodbath. Lucia was the one he was worried about, especially considering that she had scored the lowest out of anyone this year.

The uniform of the arena this year was the same one it had been for nearly two decades: pants, boots, and a T-shirt, all shades of black or grey, with the tribute's district number on both arms. He topped it off with the elbow-length fingerless plated gloves that were also part of the outfit year after year, and joined Johnny, Bethany, and Lucia out at the breakfast table. This time they ate their fill, knowing that it was the last good meal they'd have in probably about 2 weeks. For 23 of them, it would be the last time in their lives that this happened.

"There's not much else we can say that you don't already know," Johnny pointed out, "play it safe; make sure the risks you take are calculated, and don't go in deeper than you can handle."  
"If you forge alliances," Bethany added, "watch them closely. Be prepared to betray them at a moment's notice, otherwise they'll have a knife sticking out of your back instead of the other way around."  
"I'm not going to betray Lucia," Cadence asserted. He remembered Bethany's games. She played double agent to her own alliance and the career pack, and indirectly led to the deaths of all of her allies, and directly caused the deaths of her brief career allies by poisoning their drinks. Cadence admired the underhanded tactics, and was not afraid to use them on anyone not named Lucia. He told Bethany this, and she grinned.

"There's no right or wrong way to win the games, Cadence," she assured him. "Do what you must."

Soon, Cadence and Lucia were following the other tributes down into the lower levels of the tribute tower, where they were then escorted to a hovercraft. He looked around him, realizing that this was the day of reckoning for most of them. Their expressions would tell him a lot about what to expect.

Despite Lucia's score, she was remarkably calm. The tributes from District 10 looked a bit worried, although their comrades from District 9, who usually looked concerned considering their generally abysmal record, looked fairly calm. If anything, they actually looked pumped, akin to the careers. Faren, Nazir, Gabriela, and Serendipity all looked somewhat excited, which made sense in a twisted sort of way. They had been training for this moment their entire lives, and now here they were. Mani and Sudi were hard to read, as were Xandra and Kilon. All of them had scored reasonable well, but all of them also looked rather stone-faced. Ratchet was the only one that was grinning from ear to ear, almost as if she already had some nefarious scheme cooked up in her mind. Perhaps those words were true: "Never Trust a Ratchet".

Whatever the case, soon the tributes were escorted into different rooms off of a maze of catacombs to position them underneath their appropriate pedestals. Kurai was waiting for Cadence in his room (and he assumed Kuro was with Lucia), although all he did was give one simple but powerful line.

"Don't lose yourself out there, Cadence."

Cadence nodded to acknowledge he had heard the remark, but did not reply. It was something to consider though, and he knew it. He waved goodbye as he stepped into the transport tube that would lead him to the surface. He slowly ascended, briefly getting veiled in darkness before he rose to the surface of his pedestal. He saw Lucia about 6 or 7 pedestals away, situated between Ratchet and Kilon. The countdown to death had begun.

 _"Sixty… Fifty-Nine… Fifty-Eight…"_

Cadence wanted to call out to Lucia, but he knew that he shouldn't. He hoped that someone else would make a noise so he could get her attention, but no one did. Lucia looked surprisingly focused as well, and Cadence realized that he was wasting valuable time. He began to scan the arena.

 _"Nineteen… Eighteen… Seventeen…"_

The dark greenery and the blackish-grey rocks did not tell him much about what the place was going to be like, but he saw the kinds of weapons strewn about and started making judgments and calculations based off of those and what the other tributes were doing. There were a few weapons, but most of them were knives or shards of metal—exactly the kind of thing he excelled at using. This was going to be a breeze as long as he could reach Lucia.

 _"Three… Two… One…"_

The gong went off and the tributes raced to the cornucopia, scrambling for the best weapons and supplies. Serendipity was swift, but incidentally, the first tribute to acquire a weapon was Fox from District 9, who also went on to score the first kill of the 94th games by slinging a metal shard with great force into the chest of a District 10 boy, who dropped immediately. His partner was the next to fall as Nazir took her down, and suddenly the bloodbath was in full swing. Cadence snagged a pack of supplies and a few knives and beelined it towards Lucia, who seemed to be extraordinarily agile. There were attacks thrown her way, and while the girl was unarmed as of yet, she was remarkably swift at hearing the swings and projectiles before they could impale or lacerate her. Cadence saw Serendipity and her alliance get into some other fights with other tributes, and it seemed for the moment, the District 5 pair had a chance to escape. A District 6 girl got in between him and Lucia, and Cadence cut her down without even looking twice at her.

"Lucia!" he shouted, seizing her hand. "I've got supplies. Let's get out of here."

He took her by the hand and led her out of the carnage. He wasn't sure how many tributes had died or who else was still alive and kicking, but he could make a few guesses. He figured Districts 1, 2, and 3 would all survive, since that was usually a habit of theirs. Obviously District 5 had both of its tributes alive considering that he and Lucia were fleeing the mayhem together; he figured that both tributes from District 12 and District 11 would survive, and considering their performances in the training center, he figured that both the kids from District 9 would break the trend and remain alive as well. Districts 4, 6, 7, 8, and 10, he assumed would be this year's cannon fodder. Obviously there would be no telling how right or wrong he was until the evening, but he was not interested in sticking around to find out. Instead, he found a small cove underneath a large mossy rock for him and Lucia to hide in as they caught their breath and waited for the ruckus from the cornucopia to die down.

"We did it…" Cadence sighed in relief as he held Lucia close. "We survived the bloodbath."

"And then comes the harder parts," Lucia warned, "the tributes are going to be more tactical and dangerous from here on out. It will be less risky since we're not all fighting over the same weapons, but just like we're able to focus, so will they."

"I know," Cadence nodded, "that doesn't mean I can't feel relieved that neither of us have to go down in embarrassing history being slaughtered in the bloodbath."

Lucia nodded in agreement, and the two fell silent for a moment as they took in the sights, sounds, and smells of the arena. He knew that they weren't safe, but his confidence was bolstered by them crawling out of the carnage alive and unhurt. Still—with a moment to ponder his thoughts, he also realized the grim truth of their situation: The 94th Annual Hunger Games had begun.


	14. Chapter 14: The Moving Mountains

**AUTHOR'S NOTES:** _I am vacationing next week, and so there might not be a chapter next Tuesday. That said, here's this chapter only a couple minutes late, and it's another one of those that helps set the scene. We get to learn who all died in the bloodbath at last, and a little bit about who is still at large. Our dear friends Lucia and Cadence aren't in the clear yet. No one's safe while the games persist._  
 _Happy Reading!_

 **CHAPTER 14: The Moving Mountains**

Cadence and Lucia were free from the bloodbath, but the trouble had only just begun, and they both knew that there was no way out of this place until a grand total of 23 boys and girls were dead.

The first thing he wanted to do was scout out the arena to get an idea of what they were dealing with. Lucia wouldn't be able to see any of it, and so he'd have to be descriptive when he was conveying the layout to her, and he would also need to be on the lookout.

For now, his first objective was to find a nice place to hide while they made camp. Cadence wasn't too worried about secrecy just yet, but he didn't want to get spotted on the first evening and die immediately. He had watched enough recaps of previous games to see the obvious folly in that, and so instead he took Lucia by the hand and started exploring.

The first thing he noticed was that there was a lot of greenery, and that most of the surfaces they walked on consisted of dark grey or black stone. He wasn't sure what it was exactly, but it seemed sturdy enough, and thus didn't really bother him.

"What's the arena like?" Lucia asked after a few minutes of walking.

"Lots of black and lots of green," Cadence answered, "it's remarkably flat too other than a few small rocks or boulders here or there. I…" he suddenly froze and stopped talking.

"What is it?" Lucia's ears perked as if she was listening for sounds. All she could hear was the breeze against the foliage, and the distant sound of trees below them.

"…we've just come to a cliff," Cadence pointed out, "it's a long way down. I don't think anyone could survive that kind of fall, and I think even if they did, that they weren't meant to be able to come back up. These cliffs are sheer."

"Just let me know if I wander too close to the edge then," Lucia requested, "I'd hate to fall, and I know you would hate it if I did too."

Lucia crouched down and felt the texture of the ground beneath their feet. It was mostly grassy, with a few small shrubs here and there. "So what were you saying about the boulders?" she reminded him.

"They seem to be systematically placed around," Cadence nodded, glancing around as if to verify his own theories, "the ground is fairly even as long as you don't run into one of them. A few of them look like they might provide some decent shelter though. In fact…" he paused, glancing at Lucia. From behind, the dark colors of her clothes blended in fairly well with the colors of the rocks in the arena.

"I think we could blend in fairly well if we needed to. Still… let's get set up."

Cadence took Lucia's hand and led her away from the cliffs and deeper into the heart of the rocky plateau they were on. Maybe that cliff had just been the western edge of the arena (considering he had fled west with Lucia after the bloodbath), and so Cadence figured that he might be able to find another route. Instead, all he found was another cliff to the north, except this one also had a small surface jutting out, almost as if there was large, suspiciously-sized rock platform inserted in after the fact.

"Careful; there's a crack there," Cadence warned, but Lucia simply hopped over it. There was a rumbling, and suddenly, the platform Lucia was in began to move.

"Cadence, jump!" She warned, inadvertently pulling him onto the platform. Cadence swore loudly, realizing that Lucia had panicked and that they were probably on the piece of the cliff was that going to crumble. It definitely moved away from the main plateau, but instead of tumbling down, it seemed to be moving horizontally, giving Cadence a great view of the arena. It was composed of large plateaus similar to the one that they had just been on, and with multiple smaller platforms like the one they stood on now, except only theirs was moving.

"Moving platforms… huh boy…" Cadence grumbled, but proceeded to describe the situation to Lucia so she wouldn't start panicking. "So… apparently some of these jutting square peninsulas move… which means that apparently these plateaus we're on are islands of sorts. I have no idea where this one is going to take us, but stay close. A few missteps and either one of us could fall."

Lucia listened to the heavy humming of the rock moving from one point to the other, and hummed to herself in a much gentler tone as they waited. After a few moments, Cadence noticed that they were approaching another platform.

"Hopefully this one doesn't wrap around back to the first one," he quipped, taking Lucia's hands, "come on; let's take a look at what we've got facing us here."  
As far as fauna went though, the island/plateau looked deserted. The flora was the same, and so it wasn't "themed islets" or anything so fancy.

"We might be alone on this island," Lucia suggested, "I don't hear any other tributes, since I don't imagine the careers are much about stealth."  
"True, but '11 and '12 are," Cadence reminded her.

"I heard them though," Lucia reminded him, "And the District 11 kids kind of smelled like soil."  
"That still leaves Mani and Sudi."

"District 12? Oh… they kind of smelled like blood. I don't smell any of them close by… but I do smell game. Maybe we're not as alone as we thought."

"Well, let's find a place to make camp for the evening," Cadence suggested, "I'll let you know who died when the anthem played."  
The holograms were the only real indicator of who had died on any given day, and since the anthem played, there was no other noise or announcements that went on during that time. Cadence and Lucia would just have to wait until evening to know whether or not a tribute lived or died. He was kind of hoping that Serendipity somehow got knifed, but he figured that that was just wishful thinking.

Lucia proved to be surprisingly helpful at using the foliage and branches from the trees to help build makeshift shelters and a camp for them that evening. She wasn't exactly a skilled hunter, but she had the nose of a bloodhound, which in turn helped Cadence find his prey. They ate reasonably decent that night considering they were in a Hunger Games death arena, but neither one complained.

Soon enough, the anthem played, and Lucia leaned against Cadence as he gazed up at the now shimmering night sky to watch for the tributes to appear in the order they were killed.

 _Brody LaHir, District 10…_

Cadence named the tributes off as their names showed up so that Lucia would know, although he was also quietly contemplating it and noting which of these deaths he saw. This boy was one of them; which meant that surprisingly, the first kill of the 94th games was performed by a District 9 tribute—something that had not happened in years. Usually the tributes from District 9 were among the first to get whacked.

 _Alissa Zinder, District 10…_

He had also seen this one happen, though it was by Nazir. Cadence wished that the Gamemakers would tell who killed the fallen tributes, because for one, he'd like to know who the most apt killer was, and secondly, there was a sense of self-satisfaction he felt he would get from seeing his name next to the careers' faces as he killed them off one by one.

 _Solas Drazen, District 7…_

So there were kills between Alissa and Shay… That was news to Cadence. He had not seen the carnage and mayhem behind him as he ran off; he had only slain the District 6 girl because she stood between him and Lucia, and that would not fly with him. He wondered who had killed Solas though…

 _Chad Xela, District 6…_

"Hmm… so both of the District 6 tributes died then…" he muttered.

"The girl too?" Lucia didn't know about Cadence's kill.

 _Shay Nuvas, District 6…_

"Aye; that was me," Cadence admitted, "she got between you and I, and I didn't want her going after you; so I killed her. That doesn't bother you, does it?"

"Not really, no…" Lucia admitted. "I know your motivations.

 _Mani Tauanu'u, District 12…_

Cadence was surprised to see one of the infamous Painted Tributes get offed in the bloodbath. Had the careers turned against them and managed to strike them down before they could flee? Was Xandra's 12 meaningless? Would Sudi be next?

 _Elspeth Sylvan, District 7…_

So Districts 6, 7, and 10 lost both their tributes in the first day. Cadence was still expecting there to be a District 4 death before the night was over, and knew from his own presence as well as Lucia's that District 5 was safe for the time being. That was his main concern.

 _Verde Salazar, District 8…_

To Cadence, District 8 was similar to District 5, except with fewer victors. Half the time they did well and were formidable enemies; the other half of the time they died in the opening minutes.

Chase Rebiana, District 3…

Cadence had not expected a District 3 tribute to die in the bloodbath. He mused a bit about this, and realized that Chase was the last of the bloodbath tributes, for the anthem stopped slowly after the boy's face vanished from the sky. He concluded several things from the combination of tributes still out there. While chase was dead, his partner Ratchet was still alive; and while Mani was dead, Sudi was still at large. Furthermore, if '1 and '2 had recruited District 9 into the career pack, it meant that the most formidable of Cadence's fears was true: the entire career pack had survived.


	15. Chapter 15: Five Against Four

**AUTHOR'S NOTES:** _I'm back to my regular scheduled updating, and so here's the weekly chapter again. I wasn't able to write a bonus chapter to make up for the week I missed, so here's 15, and then 16 will be the following week, and so on. Anyhoo, here's the next chapter. The summary of these games exists in "The Victors' Chronicles", but doesn't cover much of the Cadence-Lucia interactions that this story covers, so here's some more of that._  
 _Happy Reading!_

 **CHAPTER 15: Five Against Four**

Cadence made camp near one of the edges of the cliff, knowing that while he risked being surrounded, that he was going to be fighting defensively anyways thanks to Lucia. Keeping three of his four directions surrounded meant that he only had to worry about being ambushed from the south, and that unless they were sniped, that he could keep himself between Lucia and any other danger. He left a small marker there to remind himself that that way was south, but otherwise didn't really change much else.

While Cadence aimed to lay low, he wasn't trying to keep an entirely low profile, and so he was not afraid of making a fire and developing his little camp. While they surprisingly didn't run into any mutts of any kind during their excursions, they did find game. Lucia was actually able to sniff it out, and Cadence proved to be a rather adept hunter even with little more than makeshift tools and shards of metal that he used as throwing knives. His training score of 11 wasn't just for his combat skills after all. They ate well that evening, and despite the natural threats the arena posed, neither of them stressed too much about it, and as such, the two fell asleep in each other's arms rather quickly.

The next morning Cadence woke up, rubbing his eyes, and as he headed south he nearly walked off the cliff before catching himself. He was certainly awake now.

"What the…" he stammered, waking Lucia up as well.

"What's wrong?" she asked, yawning and rubbing her eyes. She might not have been able to see, but her eyes still retained many of the same functions that working eyes did.

"Someone's given us the slip," Cadence growled, "Gamemakers, probably. I think they've tweaked my sense of direction…"  
"Have they?" Lucia asked, "Where's your marker?"

Cadence looked around for it, but then realized that it was still right where he left it, undisturbed. If that was really still south, then…

"We're on one of those moving platforms," he warned, "Which means we need to get moving so we don't get caught on it again if it moves us back."  
"Lead the way," Lucia smiled. "Let's pack up and get moving."

Lucia was actually a surprisingly competent helper for Cadence as they packed up and prepared to move out, where she displayed coordination ibn her movements, almost as if she wasn't blind at all. It was true what she had said to him back at the training center—she was a helper and a healer; not a fighter. It reminded him of the rank injustice that still loomed over Panem as he remembered how much Lucia did not deserve to be here.

They packed up what they could still reuse of their camp before trekking into the rocky woods of the new island that they were on. They made camp nearby on what they assumed was solid ground instead of a moving platform, and then began exploring. Cadence actually took an example from some of the earlier predecessor victors such as Aveline, Amy, and Korra, and trekked around barefoot. The rocks were not as hard on his feet as he expected, and the grass was soft as well. Besides, it felt nice to loosen up a little. The two of them moved slowly and methodically to prevent attracting too much noise or attention, and in hindsight, Cadence realized that this was a great idea. Their silence allowed Lucia to pick up noises from the southwest coming their way that Cadence might have otherwise overlooked.

"I hear them too…" he whispered, drawing his weapons. "Is it an animal?"  
"No…" Lucia shook her head, "it sounds like tributes—a pair of tributes, no less."

"Let's be ready for them then," Cadence warned. Lucia stood behind him, and Cadence searched for a vantage point. Sure enough, their fears were verified as Isabela and Andraz from District 4 came into view, both of them wielding shards like knives and displaying some rather dexterous motions as they approached their quarries with the intent of intimidation.

"Don't worry," Cadence cracked his knuckles, drawing his blades, "I've got this."

"How long can loverboy protect you?" Andraz leered. They didn't seem to be trying to get under Cadence's skin as much as trying to sound threatening. District 4 was fill of wildcards like that.

"Till my last dying breath," Cadence replied, "it's a shame you won't be alive to see it."  
"Oh really?" Isabela raised her eyebrows. "You and what alliance?"  
"Law and Order," Cadence smirked, raising his left and right fists, "both of which are carrying huge sodding knives, in case your eyes don't work the way Lucia's don't. By the time we're done here I'll have Andraz's head rolling, and Isabela's corpse lying in a pool of her own blood. Bring it on."

This retaliatory jeer from Cadence earned the ire of the District 4 duo almost immediately, and soon metal clashed against metal as Cadence held off the assailants, using his own ferocity and blinding speed to keep them from touching him or worse, touching Lucia. The girl stepped a few feet back, cautiously wielding her knives, but also making sure she wouldn't accidentally slash at Cadence if he stepped too close. She did have to fend off Isabela at least once, but the moment the girl had tried to take the opportunistic jab at Lucia, Cadence plunged a dagger into her arm, drawing a great deal of blood. In this moment when she was stunned, Cadence took advantage of it and plunged another one right into her neck. Isabela gave half a gurgling cry before her throat filled with blood and she fell onto her back, drenched in her own blood just as Cadence had warned.

"Any second thoughts?" he taunted dryly towards her partner Andraz as Isabela's cannon fired.

"I definitely wasn't expecting that," Andraz retorted, staying on his toes, "but I can't just let you eviscerate my partner and then not do anything about exacting revenge. Sooner or later you'll come to realize the gravity of your mistake."  
"If you say so," Cadence shrugged. He was a little bolder now that he had taken out one of his foes, but this little streak cost him. He felt a blade in his ribs just below his vitals, and he growled. He didn't realize it at the time, but it had only missed his organs by fractions of an inch. Perhaps what he didn't know was all the better at this point though. He retaliated by swinging his blades with such ferocity that he aimed to cut Andraz's throat as a response to the stab. Andraz, who had aimed to try and plunge his other blade into Cadence's gut again, had lunged forward, and so his neck was close enough to Cadence's reach that he straight-up decapitated the boy, and a second cannon fired.

"The irony of this isn't lost on me," he quipped, though there was a noticeable strain in his voice that Lucia picked up. Isabela and Andraz had both died exactly how Cadence warned that they would, and the funniest part about that to Cadence was that he was not even trying to do it.

"We need to get you cleaned up!" Lucia gasped, "the way you're breathing isn't good, Cadence. Let's get out of here."

Cadence had a slight stagger in his step. While his lungs had not been pierced, moving his stomach at all, even for breathing, was laborious considering that each movement sent another searing jolt of pain through his side where Andraz had stabbed him.

They hobbled back to camp before Lucia began pulling Cadence's shirt off. His pants and gloves remained on, however (and his boots were still at the camp), and so it wasn't as awkward as it could have been. Besides, Lucia was blind.

"I've got just the thing…" she took some of their water, chewed up a few herbs that she had been collecting, and began rubbing the salve on Cadence's wound. "Ugh… this is deep." She commented, "And stop moving, Cadence, or it'll hurt more!"

Lucia was assertive when she needed to be, but Cadence found it rather charming considering that she was just trying to help him. Within a few minutes, his pain had subsided somewhat (not even Lucia could heal things instantaneously), and he felt a bit better as Lucia finished bandaging his abdomen.

"So how do you know so many healing tricks if you're blind?" Cadence asked as he pulled his shirt off, hoping that Lucia hadn't somehow noticed that his cheeks were a lot redder than they had been before she had taken his shirt off, "I mean, not trying to offend or anything; I'm just curious."

"Being blind does not render me completely helpless," Lucia explained calmly, "it just means I have to find other ways to do things; and there are only a few things that are truly impossible for me, such as reading or writing."  
"That… actually makes a lot of sense." Cadence nodded, "I might have said this before, Lucia, but… I'm glad you trust me. I… might not really know how this is going to turn out for us, but I really do want to keep you safe as long as humanely possible."  
"I understand," Lucia leaned against Cadence, putting an arm around his back and uninjured side. "And I'm glad you're supporting me."  
"It's the lease I can do." Cadence sighed. "Thank you…"

There was silence in the arena again apart from the brief moment where the hovercrafts appeared to claim the bodies of Andraz and Isabela, and while they still had around a dozen tributes to kill before the games ended, Cadence was slightly more at ease knowing that they were now two steps closer to the conclusion than they were before.


	16. Chapter 16: Flickering Illusions

**AUTHOR'S NOTES:** _With NaNoWriMo approaching, this fic might get a little sporadic and late posts like this might temporarily become the norm. Fear not, however; for this is only a month. That said, here's the new chapter in the meantime. We get another tribute death, and a bit more about what the survivors apart from District 5 are up to._  
 _Happy Reading!_

 **CHAPTER 16: Flickering Illusions**

The next few days of the games were much less eventful than the former few, and it seemed that not even the careers were out there scoring kills, for day 3 and day 4 were bereft of any cannons firing. A little exploring helped Lucia and Cadence discover the rest of their island, where it seemed they were alone. However, there were a total of four of the moving cliffs, and while day 3 was for learning their locations, day 4 was for learning their patterns. They seemed to move every 1 or 2 hours, and based on the cracks that formed or vanished as the platforms moved, it was clear that these markings were to indicate if a platform had freshly moved or was about to crack back off and move away. Cadence planned to use this knowledge to his advantage over the next few days as much as possible.

On the 5th day, however, it seemed the Gamemakers wanted to throw a little wrench into the system. Lucia woke up shivering, and both tributes were damp. Cadence rubbed his eyes, and slightly panicked for a second as he realized that his eyes were not hazy.

"This is bad," he grunted, "Lucia, we might have to rely more on your senses at this point."  
"What's going on?" she asked calmly.

"The mist we woke up soaked in is still here," Cadence explained, "and it's thick as all get-out."

"What should we do?"  
"Well, we obviously can't light much of a fire if the air is going to make everything so damp, so hopefully this will start clearing up as the day goes on."  
While the two of them were somewhat able to track the sun's movement, the fog remained as thick as ever over the 94th arena throughout the day and thus reduced the amount of travelling most of the tributes did to new lows. Someone did manage to die during the day considering the cannon that fired, but at this point, Cadence assumed it was just a mishap. Those cliffs were enormous and sheer, and if a tribute was unfortunate enough to fall down there, it was clear that they were not meant to be able to get back up.

Evening rolled around and the name and face of the day's victim showed through the fog.

 _Camilla Shao, District 8…_

"I suppose that one was coming," Lucia sighed after Cadence told her who it was, "14 and a 5 score? She didn't have her partner to watch out for her… I feel for her."

"Sad as it was, I would rather it be her than you, Lucia." Cadence insisted, "Panem needs more people like you—not people like me."  
"Ah, but that's not what the games are about," Lucia whispered. "It's to show who the strongest killer is. That is a field where you specialize."

"Just because I accept something does not mean I have to like it," Cadence sighed. "Let's not speak more on this, Lucia. You know how it makes me feel."  
"Okay," Lucia simply shrugged and curled back down under the stars and the fog. "So with Camilla gone, we're down to half the tributes at least."

"True…" Cadence lay down on his back, his arms supporting his head as he gazed into the foggy sky. "And we've still got Districts 1, 2, 9, and 11 to worry about—as well as the girls from '3 and '12."

"We'll find a way," Lucia whispered. "Please don't get worked up about me, Cadence. I understand that thinking about my death makes you uncomfortable, but the way you handle it makes me feel very uncomfortable." She was not necessarily trying to manipulate Cadence, but knew that her words could sway him this way or that, and her words about feeling uncomfortable

"…very well." Cadence grunted. "I will cease my remarks about it."

Instead he went to thinking about the tributes still alive. Usually the first half of the tributes were the bloodbath fodder, and the weaker tributes that were somehow lucky enough to escape made up the next few. The final 12, and more so the final 8 (and so on) were usually the careers and other formidable tricksters. Cadence knew (or at least assumed he knew) that Lucia wouldn't have survived more than 11 seconds in the games had he not intervened. Now, it was down to him and Lucia, the four careers (and arguably the pair from District 9, whom Cadence had a nagging feeling would be a thorn in his side later on), the formidable District 11 pair, that shady Ratchet girl from District 3, and the painted girl Sudi from District 12. Of the remaining tributes, he was actually most worried about Sudi and about Robin and Fox. He did not know their motives, and since it was extremely rare for District 9 tributes to join the careers (or even perform well in the games, even if they generally did slightly better than their District 10 counterparts), he wasn't even sure what to make of their behavior. As for Sudi… he was even more confused about her than he was about the others. He was slightly relieved when he had seen Mani's face in the sky. Dealing with him and his partner would have been scary.

" _Then again, maybe Mani was just a shill."_ He mused in his mind, _"Painted Tributes have never really feared death, and the notion of him sacrificing himself for her wouldn't be unheard of considering that I aim to do the same with Lucia. Still… that makes me wonder about their relationship? Did Mani know his partner and set himself up, or am I just overthinking it? District 12 is wily and scary. They've become a formidable force in these games with people like Katniss, Vigo, and Aveline cropping up all so soon between games. Maybe Mani wasn't a shill and was just an unlucky kill in the opening seconds. That might explain the upset factor, but even then, that doesn't make Sudi any less of a threat. Methinks there was more going on than what her '8' training score warrants…"_

Whatever the case, he remained quiet as he drifted off to sleep with thoughts of the following day on his mind, and more importantly, how to keep Lucia safe.

While Cadence and Lucia slept, however, the careers were on the move. They could not reach Cadence from the island they were on, and it would be another few hours before the platforms would move again. Not knowing which island the District 5 pair were on also hindered their efforts for another day, leaving day 6 as a rather uneventful day of the games.

On the other hand, Nazir and Gabriela ended up running into an interesting little figure during their travels: Ratchet. Cadence was right about her in one regard.

"So this is where I die then, uh?" Ratchet raised her weapons to warn that she was armed, but also raised an eyebrow of amusement.

"Do you know where '5 is?" Gabriela asked.

"Considering you killed my partner, why should I tell you anything?" Ratchet retorted.

"Because I can easily make you join him?" Gabriela threatened. Ratchet conceded.

"Hmph, fair point," she shrugged, "I like living. I haven't seen your friends though. I can tell you a bit about what '9, '11, and '12 are up to though—and about the arena."  
"Let's see what you have to offer then," Nazir warned.

The duo-turned-trio continued their hunt for a way to move to one of the other islands without waiting another hour or two for the platforms to move. Like Cadence, they learned the layouts of the islands and the moving paltforms, although unlike Cadence, they also realized that the platforms moved at different hourly intervals. It was still 1-2 hours between each one moving back or forth, but the time of movement was different for each one.

Sudi had actually taken this a step further, by memorizing both where the platforms were located, how often each one moved, and when each one moved. She had drawn a map and kept approximate track of when these movements were scheduled. She had actually passed by the little District 5 alliance's camp, but ignored them for the time being. She was more fixated on the careers, especially considering that she knew who had killed her partner Mani.

"Faren Dumar, your days are numbered…" she muttered as she worked during the night between two different islands: one of them being the island that housed the careers' current camp, and the other being a currently uninhabited island. She used a rather prominent coil of rope, attaching one end of it to a large, immovable rock high above the ground, and then waited for the platform to take her to the other side of the island where she did the same thing to a large rock much lower—essentially forming a zip line. She another hour or so for the platform to return to the careers' island and then took a little nap in preparation of what was to come. At dawn, she would put her plan into action…


	17. Chapter 17: The Zip-Line Saboteur

**AUTHOR'S NOTES:** _I apologize for the delay. As mentioned in my Fire Emblem fic as well as on my profile, my rate of posting chapters will be halved for November due to NaNoWriMo. After that, however, I intend to resume my regular scheduling as swiftly as possible. Anyways, here's the next chapter, and there's another death here. Just because Mani died in the bloodbath doesn't mean his partner suffered the same fate._  
 _Happy Reading!_

 **CHAPTER 17: The Zip-Line Saboteur**

The career pack managed to sleep peacefully for most of the evening. The platforms moved back and forth with little regard to the passage of time or to the sleeping patterns of the tributes, and most of the tributes had not yet memorized their patterns.

However, the one tribute that had memorized all of the movement patterns of this arena's landscapes had capitalized greatly on it, and she knew exactly what she needed to do. She pulled a homemade grenade out of her bag and lobbed it right towards the careers' camp. It exploded with a flash and a loud bang, but the damage done was minimal. It was more supposed to be a noisemaker rather than an actual explosive device anyways. However, it startled all of the careers as well as Ratchet awake, and Sudi taunted them from a safe distance.

"Don't take the bait!" Nazir warned, grabbing a set of throwing knives, "she's trying to goad us."  
"Actually, I'm trying to shoot you." Sudi replied, pulling out a bow and nocking an arrow. Gabriela responded so swiftly that had Sudi not bent over backwards in a difficult limbo-style pose, she would have been decapitated on the spot. Naturally, she took off running.

This was enough to goad all of the careers into pursuing her before she could recover and actually fire an arrow, and so Sudi continued to flee. She also faced a bombardment of knives, arrows, and other projectiles including stones as she raced for her trap location. A lot of what would (or would not) happen next depended on how well Sudi's timing was. She zigzagged across the arena to buy herself a little time, but kept her bearings so that she knew which way to run. She felt a light rumbling from the north after a few minutes, and she beelined it immediately for the cliffs, knowing what it meant. Her stamina reserves were still plentiful, but the swifter careers were gaining on her. She disappeared from view, grabbing a thick piece of cloth she had in her bag and throwing it around a rope that she had tied between two massive cliffs. She sailed down it like a zip line, and then disappeared into the trees on the opposite side of the cliff, waiting for the careers to either give up or for them to take her bait.

Fortunately for her, they managed to take her bait, and they rode the platform towards her. Right as their platform neared Sudi's side of the cliff, she sprung out of nowhere and rode her zip line back over to the first side of the cliff. Nazir was about to cut the ropes, but Faren jumped ahead of him and hopped onto the zip line. He was about to shout at his comrade, but Faren was gaining on Sudi much quicker than any of them would.

However, Sudi proved to be too fast for him, and when she reached the end of her line, she pulled out a grenade. She was halfway through reeling her arm back to throw it at Faren when a shard of metal whizzed out of nowhere and knocked it out of her hand, where both the shard and the grenade tumbled into the abyss. A small crackle a few moments later indicated that the grenade had gone off.

Faren was nearing Sudi's location at this point, however, and so she reacted with one swift movement, and sliced the rope that he was gliding across the abyss on. She watched his eyes widen in horror for a split second before he fell into the thick forest below. They heard a man yelling, and Faren's voice.

"Hey! I'm still alive!" he called out. The other careers stood perched on one side of the cliff, with Sudi safely on the other side (at least for another hour or two).

"You can't stop me, Sudi!" he shouted, "I'm Faren Dumar, and I'm invin…" he trailed off as there was a rustling in the trees. Faren's confident shouts turned into panicked screamed, and there was suddenly a loud series of crunching noises that sounded like something smashing through the trees. Faren's screams were cut off all of a sudden, and a cannon fired. Sudi used this moment of shock to disappear back into the forest again as the other three careers and Ratchet kind of froze out of lack of knowing how to react to what they just saw and heard.

This cannon was actually what woke Cadence up, and he woke Lucia up to warn her that other tributes were on the move.

"It's either Districts 9, 11, and 12; or it's the careers." He warned, "I don't know who just kicked it though. We'll have to wait for tonight."

"We should get moving though," Lucia suggested, "there's no telling where the others are. The platforms move during the night."  
"How do you know?" Cadence looked at her.

"We're close enough to one that I can hear when it moves," Lucia replied, "You couldn't hear it?"  
"I… suppose my hearing is not as keen as yours," Cadence admitted as he scratched the back of his neck, "but I digress. You're right—we should get moving."

Cadence was fortunate enough not to run into any hostile tributes, although as he wandered around the arena searching for any signs of other tributes, Lucia got a lead and essentially sniffed out Kilon and Xandra. Both of them were armed, but the stances they took looked defensive, and so Cadence tapped Lucia on the shoulder and whispered to her. Perhaps they could do with a little diplomacy. He would need her help for that though; charisma and diplomacy were not his thing.

"Xandra?" Lucia called out, "Kilon?"

"What is it, '5?" Xandra grunted. Did Sudi kill your allies or something?"  
"Do you know who died?" Lucia asked, "The cannon was actually what woke us up."  
"So you're not with the careers," Kilon nodded approvingly, "apparently that was Sudi's little work of art, and whatever she did offed one of them—but I'm not sure which one. If you're not with them, that's probably for the best."

"I'd rather us not fight either," Cadence added, "Not while Serendipity and them are still breathing."

"I don't think an 11-5 alliance would last too long," Xandra warned, "but if you want a sort of truce between our districts, we'll let Sudi know as soon as we find her."

"That sounds wonderful right now," Lucia smiled. "Thank you."

"Don't think much about it," Kilon shrugged, "I mean, it'll have to end sooner or later after the careers are gone, but in the meantime, stay safe, Lucia. You're the one that shouldn't be here."  
Cadence clenched his fist as the District 11 pair reminded him of that injustice. So they knew it too then; that changed a lot in his eyes, and he suddenly had a great deal of additional respect for District 11 as the two pairs of tributes parted ways. Cadence and Lucia made camp in a quiet part of the arena as the buzz of excitement of the latest death started to die down.

Sudi reunited with Xandra and Kilon about an hour after their encounter with District 5, and for once the painted girl had a cunning smile on her face.

"Faren's out," she slapped a small token into Kilon's hand, "Mani can rest in peace now."

"So who does that leave?" Xandra asked, "I heard Ratchet joined up with them."

"I've heard that too," Kilon added immediately.

"I saw her with them and they weren't trying to kill her," Sudi pointed out, "and so odds are they've joined forces—so we've still got four to deal with."  
"Any word on '9?" Kilon raised his eyebrow.

"Haven't seen 'em; have no clue about their alliance," Sudi shrugged, "your guess is as good as mine."

"Damn," Xandra swore, "well, the good news is that we made a temporary truce with District 5 until the careers are out of the way."  
"Frankly, I'm not sure who'd want to try and kill Lucia," Kilon confessed, "willingly, at least. She's got this calming aura to her presence."

"Glad I wasn't the only one who felt it," Xandra sighed in relief. "Still, we should get moving. You know what they say about the Hunger Games: Never trust a Ratchet."

With that, the District 11 pair had their next targets already in mind.

Cadence and Lucia made camp for the night as the fog began to set back in, and they waited for the anthem to play before really doing anything else.

 _Faren Dumar, District 1…_

"Sudi took our Faren," Cadence told his partner. "Only 9 tributes remain besides the two of us."

"These are the formidable 9 though," Lucia warned, "We know Sudi and District 11 are still at the careers' throats and vice-versa, but none of us seem to know anything about District 9. Do you think they could be a threat this year?"  
"They're usually fodder," Cadence mused as he went off of previous recollections of past Hunger Games, "but for both of them to outlive a dozen other tributes and survive 8 days means that we're not dealing with the usual fodder. Either way, I'll keep you safe."  
"Don't worry, Cadence," Lucia smiled as she lay down for the night. "I never had any doubt."  
"I know you didn't." he grunted as he curled up next to her. Lucia never doubted him, but Cadence doubted himself and his ability to protect Lucia—and he knew it.


	18. Chapter 18: The Rebels Strike

**AUTHOR'S NOTES:** _With the holiday season at hand, it might be another month or so (around January) before I get back to the regular swing of things. I apologize for the lengthy delay on this story. It took a little while for the inspiration to flow, but despite these setbacks, I am still not cancelling it. Anyways, this chapter focuses a lot on the three "outlying" tributes: Kilon and Xandra from District 11, and Sudi from District 12. We still get to see our District 5 heroes, but they're in less focus for this chapter. Don't worry; they still have plenty of screentime of their own though._  
 _Happy Reading!_

 **CHAPTER 18: The Rebels Strike**

It was not unheard of for a tribute or two to essentially vanish from the games after the usual bloodbath chaos had subsided. While the Gamemakers still knew exactly where they were, none of the other tributes, including the careers, could find where Fox and Robin from District 9 had run off to. This was a considerable oddity not only for how long they had been 'missing', but also because District 9 was notorious for its "cannon-fodder" tributes. This year, however, both of them had made it into the final 12, and were fixing to make it into the final 8 as well.

This was the issue that Xandra and Kilon discussed with Sudi as the 8th day dawned.

"Call it a hunch, but I don't think they'd join us if we found them," Sudi pointed out, "they were getting all cozy with the careers in the training center, and so that might be a thing."  
"I don't imagine any of us think that they've sided with '5, do we?" Kilon raised an eyebrow.

"I highly doubt that," Xandra shook her head, "I'm pretty sure Cadence hates everyone not named Lucia Alzar. It was worth trucing with him because I'd rather not tangle with him right now. The kid can fight."

"So who do we go for?" Sudi twirled a knife in her hands with the same deftness seen from many of the District 2 tributes in recent games. "I mean, at this point all roads are pointing to the careers."

"I assumed that was a given," Kilon chortled as he took a long draught from his water bottle, "we just need to make sure that District 9 doesn't come and stab us in the back."  
"You're not worried about '5 doing the same?" Sudi sheathed her knife, raising an eyebrow.

"Cadence seems genuine enough," Kilon shrugged as he packed his supplies, "and he's obsessed with protecting Lucia. I don't think he wants to preemptively make more enemies than he needs to."

"My question, rhetorical as it may be, is what happened to District 9," Xandra pointed out.

"The Gamemakers probably know," Kilon reminded her, "unless they both lost their right arms the way that girl from District 1 did last year."

"Vivian Nelson was a kindred spirit of mine," Sudi pointed out, "District 1 or not; she was what legends are made of. It reminds me of the story of Viridi Kuro."

"Is it story time?" Xandra giggled, "Because I love story time."

"It's story time." Sudi gave her friends a rare smirk as she applied more of her blood-red paint to her face and the exposed parts of her arms between her T-shirt sleeves and elbow-length gloves, "though you don't really have to worry about getting comfortable or anything. It's not very long."  
Despite this, both District 11 tributes sat there with curious expressions gazing at Sudi.

"I'm not charismatic storyteller like your hero Sagittaria," the District 12 girl confessed, "but basically, Viridi was a girl from District 12 in the 32nd Hunger Games that lost her arm. The difference that time was that the Capitol couldn't find her and so they considered her dead. The cannon fired and her face showed up in the sky and all that, too. It took them like 5 days to realize they had made a mistake, and they had to publicly announce it to the other tributes so they knew who to look for. That's the official story from back home anyways."

"Wasn't there also a kid that cut her own tracker out?" Kilon raised an eyebrow.

"I think there might have been," Sudi shrugged, "I'm not sure. I guess I can't exactly go and check and get back to you on that. If it wasn't from '12 though, I'd wager there was someone from '11 that tried it. There's a reason our districts are so close. We think alike on a lot of things."

"True enough," Kilon agreed, "but I suppose as fun as it would be to just sit around the campfire and tell stories all night long, we should probably get moving."  
"Fair enough," Sudi had finished applying the paint to her face and body, and promptly rose to her feet and awaited her allies to do the same.

The three of them navigated the arena to try and home in on the careers. While they did this, they wound up running into Cadence and Lucia, who were trying to hunt down Fox and Robin. Naturally, both groups got defensive out of habit, but Xandra was the one to break the ice.

"We're hunting for the careers," she indicated, "the folks from '1, '2, and '3, to be exact. Have you gotten any leads on them?"  
"We ran from Gabriela, who was coming from the east," Cadence put a thumb behind his shoulder, where the outlying tributes realized he had a bandage of white cloth around his upper arm, "she did a number on me; otherwise I might have tried my hand at going for her."

"We're just trying to find safer ground," Lucia added, "if you're going after them, stay safe. I'm pretty sure their camp is east of here."

"Got it," Kilon smirked and turned to the others. They let the District 5 pair go on their way, before plunging into the woods heading east. They kept their wits about them as they sought out any of the careers. Ratchet, Nazir, Gabriela, and Serendipity were all still at large, and Sudi in particular was still thirsty for more of their blood to soak her blades.

Sudi held out her arm to halt the others as they came upon a clearing. The careers had clearly set up a camp here, but it was deserted apart from Ratchet, who was there as a guard, a bow in hand. As Xandra pulled out a knife, Ratchet sprang up and fired an arrow. It went through Xandra's hand and pinned it to a tree. The District 3 girl smirked even as Kilon and Sudi appeared, but she slowed them down by threatening them with another shot.

"Now, we can do this the easy way or the hard way," she warned, catching Kilon off guard by shooting his leg. "Let's get rid of this other painted menace first, actually…" she nocked another arrow. Sudi rucked as the string was released prematurely, and Ratchet staggered back. Xandra had used her free hand to pull out a dagger and throw it right into Ratchet's chest. She followed this up by straight-up tearing the arrow from her pinned hand out and throwing it aside as a cannon went off.

"I'm gonna need to wrap this up," she grunted as Kilon broke off the arrow that had skewered his leg and limped towards his partner. "Let's see if the careers have anything we can use…"  
Sudi stood guard with throwing knives in hand as the District 11 pair raided the careers' camp. Kilon wrapped his own leg first and then helped Xandra remove the glove from her left hand as he wrapped it for her. They pocketed the rest of the medicine and the first aid kits, and Sudi joined in to help pick the camp bare of any food or other useful supplies.

"It's true what they say after all," Kilon quipped, "never trust a Ratchet."  
"I think we can trust a dead one," Sudi retorted without even looking up from her work.

"We should stay wary though," Xandra warned, "The longer we linger, the more likely one of the others will come this way. They heard the cannon too, I'm pretty sure."

Almost as if she predicated it, they weren't able to escape without incident. They were packing the last of the supplies away when Gabriela returned from her hunt. Before she could ready her bow, however, she fell to the ground in a slump, one of Sudi's knives cleanly lodged in her throat. A second cannon fired, and Sudi smirked as she retrieved her knife.

"Maybe we should wait around after all," she joked to the others.

"Not with this many supplies, I'd wager," Kilon suggested, "besides, I've got a limp and Xandra's still basically one-handed for the time being. Let's rest and recover—unless you want to part ways now?"  
"Not a chance," Sudi shook her head, "I'm not going to let an alliance this great dissemble this soon. If nothing else, I reckon the two of you would be worthy opponents if we all survive after taking out Serendipity, Nazir, District 9, and District 5."

"Heh," Xandra chuckled, shouldering his backpack with her good arm, "Fair enough."

They made camp on a different island after waiting for one of the shifting platforms to pick them up, and left the remaining two careers in the dust as they made camp for the evening.

They were not the only ones pleased to see the names and faces in the sky that evening. Cadence watched for the names once the anthem started playing, since he had heard the cannons just as everyone else in the arena (and watching these events on television) had.

 _Ratchet Caseres, District 3…_

"I guess we don't have to worry about not trusting Ratchets anymore," Lucia giggled after Cadence told her the identity of the name and face. "Who's the other one?"

 _Gabriela Sanchez, District 2…_

"I suppose that means we won't see a District 2 girl take the victory for a 3rd year in a row," Lucia commented once Cadence had shared Gabriela's death.

"There are only 7 others out there now," Cadence put his hands on Lucia's shoulders, massaging them surprisingly gently for a boy notorious for his ferocity. "Lucia, we might actually be able to get you home—I mean it."

Lucia smiled. "I believe you, Cadence," she whispered. "And I'm with you every step of the way…"


	19. Chapter 19: Innocence is Dead

**AUTHOR'S NOTES:** _These last few months have been crazy, and I apologize for the great delay on this story. It was tricky to write, because I wasn't feeling it, and this is probably one of the most emotional chapters in the entire story for a variety of reasons. Anyways, now it's up and the excuses are gone, so I will hopefully ring in 2017 by being more efficient in my writing of fanfics._  
 _Happy Reading!_

 **CHAPTER 19: Innocence is Dead**

The more time that passed, the more Cadence began to grow worried about District 9. He knew where Kilon, Xandra, and Sudi had gone, and since there was a temporary truce between them and the District 5 pair he was not worried about them going back on their word this soon. Serendipty and Nazir were on the run somewhere, considering that Serendipity's partner was long since a thing of the past, and the careers' other allies, Ratchet and Gabriela, had shown up in the sky the previous evening.

Lucia did not need to see to know that Cadence was worried as they trekked across the treacherous arena. She put a hand on his shoulder, bringing his fast-paced, almost stomping footsteps to a halt.

"Cadence…" she whispered, "I understand the risks of these games, but even I can tell how tense you are. That's not going to do you any favours."  
"The angrier I am, the fiercer I'll fight," Cadence grunted in response.

"Or the more you'll be blinded by that anger and lose your focus." Lucia corrected him.

"If someone lays a finger on you, they'll learn just how swiftly I can react, and how I will brutally murder them." Cadence brandished his blades, which shimmered off of the afternoon sunlight as they wandered around the arena. Cadence was hoping to find some trace of Fox and Robin but to no avail. There were signs of disturbance in the grass, but Cadence didn't exactly keep track of tributes' shoe sizes (or even foot sizes; since he knew that he and Sudi, for example, were barefoot), and so these didn't do much good. Lucia followed one set of them towards a cliff, where a bhunk of the plateau was missing. Cadence spotted it in the distance, adjoined to another platform. If they had recently missed a tribute, he or she was long gone now.

With a mumble of curses and a sigh, he resigned to the fact that he was not likely to run into anyone that evening, and so he found a good place to make camp and got to work.

The anthem played that evening, but since no cannons had gone off during the day, the Gamemakers had nothing to show in the sky for Day 9's events. Cadence knew at the bottom of his mind that Lucia's odds were diminishing with each tribute that died. The weak were getting weeded out, and now only the strongest and most cunning tributes survived. He knew that Lucia was only alive because of his own wiles; she was not a fighter, and wasn't even really a hunter. She could sniff out game or plants for them, but she wasn't really one to want to end something's (or someone's) life.

Cadence sighed again. "I just wish that you could go home," he mumbled as they made settled down for the evening. The arena was so seemingly vast that he didn't even bother with watches anymore. Lucia was a light sleeper, and she would warn him if she woke up to any kind of noise.

Cadence turned to Lucia, whispering her name. She turned to face him, curiously.

"I know it doesn't mean much now, Lucia," he confessed, "but I have to say it before one of us gets killed."

"What is it?" Lucia had gears turning in her head, but remained subtle. Cadence always found her difficult to read, although that might not have said much considering that his antisocial personality had not gifted him with the ability to read emotions too well.

"I care about you," Cadence began with the obvious, "a lot. And now I know why." He paused and took a deep breath.

"I love you, Lucia. That is why I am so damn hell-bent on sending you home alive. You deserve to live!"

Lucia put her arms around Cadence and softly pulled him in. "I love you too, Cadence." she admitted, "I might extend those feelings towards people easier than you, but know that you are very special to me. I do not mean to be pessimistic when I speak of my death; I am only being logical. You have a much greater chance of surviving than I do."

"Why would I want to live a life after the games," Cadence grunted, "It would be without you—and I don't want that at all."

"Then let's enjoy what little time we have left…" Lucia whispered, pulling Cadence in for a kiss.

He cursed himself for briefly forgetting hormones were a thing, and he really wished that he could just throw everything else aside and spend the rest of his days with this beautiful blind girl, but alas; they were still in the games, and if other tributes found them unarmed and unaware, simply living the good life, they would be easy prey.

They pulled back a few moments later after what seemed like an eternity of bliss, even if it was only a few seconds. Cadence wished it had lasted forever, and he didn't have too many words to use as a reply.

"Thank you…" he whispered. "Just, I… thank you."

"Thank you, Cadence." Lucia whispered, running her hand through his red curls one last time. "let's get some sleep. Hopefully nothing bothers us in the night."  
"Aye," Cadence sighed again. "that'd probably be for the best."

Fortunately for the both of them, nothing happened to them or their camp during the night except for a few missing apples. Cadence and Lucia had never even noticed their absence, and thus only the Gamemakers and whatever tribute won the game and watched the recaps would live to see that it had been Sudi. She might not have been honest in terms of her thievery, but she lived up to her word of not harming the District 5 pair while the careers (and '9) were out there. She had bigger fish to fry.

The sun was high in the sky when Cadence's entire world was turned upside down. Lucia was humming softly as they walked, with silence surrounding them save for the breeze in the leaves of the trees. Cadence only realized that something was wrong when Lucia's humming was cut short. She fell silently a moment later, and Cadence found himself face to face with a knife-wielding girl with a 9 on both of her shoulders: Fox Morrowson.

"The careers send their regards," Fox warned as she stepped back.

"You have 30 seconds to live," Cadence seethed. Fox ducked just in time to see a knife fly right over her head, whizzing right past the air where her neck had been only milliseconds before.

Surprisingly enough, the Gamemakers actually made bets on Cadence's assertion. Fox was fast, but Cadence was faster. They tore through the trees, Cadence's ferocity making the mutts that had torn Faren apart a few days ago look almost tame in comparison. Robin leapt to try and escape Cadence, but the boy also lunged through the air, daggers drawn. They found a home nestled in Fox's back.

"Tell me where your partner is, and I'll make this swift." his voice was more of a guttural growl in Robin's ear. "Otherwise, I'm happy to carve up your back and limbs and wait for you to bleed out."  
"He's with the careers!" Fox cried out, "probably coming this way!"

There was a tone of desperation and fear in her voice, which made Cadence feel vindicated for a split second as he slashed her throat. A 2nd cannon went off, and he was ready to start ripping her body apart as some sort of attempt at avenging Lucia, but when he saw and heard the hovercraft above him heading back the way they had come, he raced after it. He had to see Lucia one last time.

A 2nd hovercraft flew in to collect Fox's corpse as Cadence raced after the craft to reach Lucia. The cannon had fired, which meant her tracker had shut down in accordance with her death. Still, he wished to hold her in his arms one final time.

Unfortunately, he was not able to realize this wish either. The craft had already pulled Lucia up in its massive claws and was flying away right as Cadence arrived. Not to let that be something to stop him, he jumped on a rock and into a tree and then lunged for the massive metal machinery. He actually managed to catch it, causing the craft to stop for a moment. Cadence saw Lucia's face between the claws, looking as serene in death as she had in life. Suddenly the machine lurched violently, throwing Cadence back to the ground as it carried Lucia's body away. He screamed at the top of his lungs, but apart from her name, he wasn't even sure what he shouted. Lucia's hovercraft disappeared, and Fox's disappeared right after it. Cadence stopped screaming, and a surreal silence fell over the arena—at least as far as Cadence was concerned.

18 days. He had only really gotten to know Lucia Alzar for 18 days before she was ripped out of his life. The 1st day was Reaping Day, where Cadence was reminded of the sick injustice of these games. The next 7 days were at the training center where he tried to teach her how to survive. The final 10 days of Lucia's life were spent surrounded by rocky, grassy cliffs that moved around at hourly whims. He had fought to protect her, but eventually came to genuinely like her, and then love her. Just the previous evening, they had even confessed that love for one another, proving it with the most wonderful kiss of Cadence's 15-year life. Now she was gone, and so was the voice of peace and the voice of reason. Cadence now only had one thing left on his mind: bloodlust. His goal now was to slay as many of the remaining tributes as possible and win it—win these games for the girl who could not.


	20. Chapter 20: Karmic Retribution

**AUTHOR'S NOTES:** _Up until just recently, I was caught up in a rather nasty real-life funk that kind of kept me from writing for whatever reasons, mental or otherwise. Either way, the 20th installment is now up and running, and I apologize for the lengthy delay. The Hunger Games must go on, after all._  
 _Happy Reading!_

 **CHAPTER 20: Karmic Retribution**

Just when he thought he could calm himself over the notion, the anthem played that evening to rub salt in his wounds.

 _Lucia Alzar, District 5…_

Cadence seethed at the injustice of seeing that face up there, and the next face gave him a mixture of vindication and anger.

 _Fox Morrowson, District 9…_

While Cadence had originally intended to go on the warpath, his blind rage soon subsided into a state of denial and depression. Lucia was gone. Despite his vicious and valiant efforts, he was unable to save her from a miserable death inside a sadistic arena. He kept his wits about him as he wandered the arena, though he stuck to the quieter and more secluded parts where he doubted anyone would find him. Eventually he came to an area where he could practically hear his own heartbeat, and settled down for the time being to help sort out his thoughts.

He decided to hole himself up in this part of the arena for the time being, and so got to work constructing an elaborate labyrinth of traps to keep himself in and others out. He had a very meticulous entry and exit method; for food and water would not supply themselves. Otherwise, he decided to wait it out here. He figured if no one killed anyone else over the next couple of days, that he'd at least be protected from most hazards the Gamemakers had to offer—unless of course they went exclusively after him or something. He remembered the rumors that surrounded Sacajawea Kwan, the District 12 girl from last year's games. While the Capitol obviously did not come out and blatantly admit that they had rigged the games against her, most people, including the victor (despite said victor being from District 2) knew that the 93rd Annual Hunger Games had in fact been rigged against this woman.

Cadence briefly wondered if Sudi knew anything about that. It wasn't like he could ask her, although he figured that their truce was probably at least temporarily still on.

Incidentally, her thoughts, as well as those of her District 11 allies, were on Cadence as well. They were aware of the relationship he and Lucia had had, and aft3er he had gone quiet, they wondered what had become of him.

"So what do you think of all this, Sudi?" Kilon asked the District 12 girl, "There are 7 of us left, we still match the careers in terms of numbers. District 12 is on the path to resurgence if '84 and '91 are anything to go by… and then of course there's the whole scandal with Sacajawea last year."

"Why do you think I refuse to die," Sudi quipped, "it was bad enough that they got Mani in the bloodbath, but even then I'm still not done causing a bit of mayhem for our career-minded friends."

While she was not about to give some rousing speech, Sudi had gotten the full attention of Kilon and Xandra, whose eyes were now on her.

"What?" she chuckled, "don't look at me like I'm about to stand and give some sort of revolutionary, moving speech. I'm just speaking my mind, and right now, harassing the careers and ruining their days is what's mostly on my mind. Now if only I could trick a few more of them into going the same way Faren did. I wonder if I can make a few more grenades…"

"It's not like District 11 is doing too bad either, you know…" Sudi added as she rose to her feet to start hunting down some components. "and frankly, if I die, I hope that those back home in my district root for the two of you. Cadence is a decent kid, but '5 is kind of too goody-goody with the Capitol for my tastes. Still… I'd much rather take him as a victor over any of the other careers."  
"A rebel to the end then…" Kilon smirked approvingly. "I like it."

"It's what we do in District 12," Sudi smirked, "there hasn't been a loyalist in '12 that wasn't a Peacekeeper in over a quarter century. It's amazing that the Capitol hasn't razed us to the ground yet."

"Then maybe you shouldn't talk so loud," Kilon teased.

"Right-o," Sudi cooed, "anyways, I was serious about getting those grenade components, so you two stay safe while I'm gone, alright?"  
"implying we can't defend ourselves…" Xandra clutched her battleaxe and chuckled.

"Me? I would never…" Sudi put a hand to her chest jokingly. They chuckled as Sudi disappeared, while Kilon and Xandra kept watch and kept their weapons close.

What they did not know, however, was that Robin was coming for them. Originally he was looking for Cadence to avenge the death of his partner Fox, but instead he happened upon the District 11 pair, who by this point had let their guard down just a little as Sudi returned with her components as well as a fresh kill from a hunt.

What Robin did not realize, however, was that he had been duped. Nazir and Serendipity had convinced him to go on this hunt, but he had not realized that the District 1 girl had followed him—not to stab him in the back, but to frame him.

She watched from her own vantage point as Robin drew his bow to take aim at Xandra, who he perceived as the larger threat. Serendipity launched her arrow before he could, however, and hers rang true as it struck Kilon fatally in the chest. The sound of the arrow whizzing right past his head, coupled with the cannon that blared a moment later made Robin jump, which rustled the bushes and alerted Xandra and Sudi to his location immediately. Xandra had barely risen to her feet with her axe in hand when Sudi had whipped out her bow and slugged Robin right between the eyes with a well-placed arrow. A second cannon fired, and in the mayhem, Serendipity managed to sneak away from the scene completely unnoticed.

"Well shit…" Xandra growled as the hovercrafts came to collect Robin and Kilon. "This is the first since '86 that District 9 has made a name for themselves, and suddenly we're faced with formidable tributes. I wonder what was different this time?"  
"Your guess is as good as mine…" Sudi shrugged, "But we need to be more vigilant if we're getting ambushed by '9 of all places. I think the only thing more embarrassing than that at this point would have been District 10."  
"They've been bloodbath fodder for decades though," Xandra shook her head, "each year I've been alive, at least. I see your point."

"Either way, we need to get moving." Sudi suggested, "Let's see if we can find a trail and see where Robin moved in from. Otherwise Nazir and Serendipity are just going to come and get us."

Cadence was startled out of his nap when the two cannons went off so close to one another. He first assumed that there was an altercation where one tribute was killed and then avenged, but then also thought that maybe it was a raid and that two tributes from the same alliance had died. There would be no way of telling until that evening when their faces showed in the sky.

He realized at this point that with Lucia gone he was the only one not in an alliance. Sudi was with the District 11 pair, and while the careers were now bereft of Fox and Gabriela, they still had Serendipity, Nazir, and Robin. No matter who had died, both alliances still had at least one member alive.

Cadence was fortunate enough to not run into anyone for the rest of the afternoon, and that evening he paid close attention to the sky when the anthem started playing.

 _Robin Destry, District 9…_

Cadence smirked, feeling vindicated that the partner of Lucia's killer had finally been done in. He wondered who had gotten him, but knew that the only way he could find out was if the killer stepped forward and told him, or if he won the games and managed to view the recaps.

 _Kilon Sotega, District 11…_

Cadence frowned at this one. He hadn't exactly known Kilon too well or been friends with him the way Sudi and Xandra were, but he had hat least been nice enough to agree to a truce with him and Lucia while the careers were still a threat. It was times like that which made Cadence realize how truly on his own he was. Lucia had not been a threat to anyone, nor had she wanted to be.

Another thing that crossed his mind was Sudi. Most partnerships (in this game at least) had died within a few days of each other. On the other hand, it was 11 days in and Sudi was still alive, while her partner Mani had been killed in the bloodbath. He wondered if that had just been bad luck on Mani's end, or if he had been an unskilled tribute all in all. All of the other tributes had died fairly close to one another. Even Faren's death was only a few days ago, and Lucia's was only two days prior.

Naturally, every time he thought of Lucia he thought of the injustice of everything the games had done to her, even down to her reaping itself. He had to win—he had to win it for her. And to do that, it meant that all of the others: Nazir, Serendipity, and even Xandra and Sudi—all had to die.


	21. Chapter 21: Five, Four, Three…

**AUTHOR'S NOTES:** _Hey, so remember how I said that I wasn't going to abandon any of my Hunger Games stories no matter how long it took? Well, I wasn't lying on that front. This one was not so much a lack of inspiration considering I've got it mapped out in "The Victors' Chronicles". Whatever the case, he's the long-awaited 21st chapter of the 94th games. The games are nearly over at this point, and I'd like to apologize again for the 114-day gap between chapters. I'll try to do better with #22 and so on._  
 _Happy Reading!_

 **CHAPTER 21: Five, Four, Three...**

There was something to be said about the Painted Tributes from District 12. Rumors around the district held a consistent belief that many of these reapings in the district were not in fact random, but were more chosen from a lottery of any of the children bold or audacious enough to mark themselves in such a way. Whatever it was, these nefarious tributes always inspired the more rebellious types to look to them as examples, heroes, and role-models.

Sudi Ontanago was no exception. For one, she had inspired Cadence, but also many others, both back home in District 12, and in some of the other rebellious districts as well. Her predecessors had been similar, and it was really the "Painted Tribute" mentality that was pervasive throughout District 12, much to the chagrin of the Capitol's ego.

All great things were doomed to come to an end at some point or another, however. Cadence actually stumbled across Sudi and Xandra's camp, and followed the former of the two from the shadows. He didn't want to kill her while Nazir and Serendipity still drew breath, but he also knew that alliances were unlikely this late in the games, especially since there were only 5 tributes left. If he gave away his position, that meant Sudi would easily be able to track him, because he knew that her tracking skills were far superior to his own, and that he would likely die against her much sooner than she would against him. His anger was not directed at her the way it was for Nazir and Serendipity. If he confronted either of those two, he was not worried about his abilities. Perhaps a bit of bravado, but at this point he was more concerned about avenging Lucia rather than surviving, and so he was just waiting for the right person to take out his pent-up anger on.

Unfortunately, it seemed the odds were not in his favour. Something sprang right in front of the bushes where Cadence was hiding, and suddenly the air was filled with smoke that made Cadence dizzy and unconscious. It was unclear if Sudi or her ambusher had thrown it, but whatever the case, the two tributes were now fighting as they crawled away from the smoke.

Cadence came to a few moments later and they were gone. A purplish haze hovered a few inches above him, and so he crawled on his stomach through the grass and bush to try and get out of its range. The noise of metal against metal was heard off in the distance, as if two tributes were going at it in a death match, which they were. Cadence was too far off to really race to the aid of anyone, but he continued to slowly make his way towards the sound of the noise.

Sudi had run into Nazir, and the two of them were clashing with daggers in each hand, creating a high-speed clash with a whirlwind of steel. Incidentally, despite all of the conflicts and enmity that the career alliance and the outlier alliance had formed against one another between now and the beginning of the games, neither Nazir nor Sudi seemed too angry at this, and appeared to be treated it more as businesslike banter, much like how the District 1 girl and the District 12 girl from the previous year had been in their final duel. It was merely a necessity to help advance the games.

"Not gonna lie," Nazir pointed out, "your trick against Faren was brilliant."

"I was pretty sure I was toast with that, actually," Sudi chuckled as she crossed her blades to deflect a thrust that would have otherwise gone through her left eye and out the back of her skull, "so no hard feelings about Gabriela then?"  
"None apart from the notion of the Hunger Games," Nazir nodded, "I'll miss Gabriela when I go home, but even if she was alive, it'd be me or her at the end once Xandra, Cadence, and Serendipity are dead and gone, so it's moot at this point."  
"Fair enough," Sudi took the offensive for a while, whirling around fanatically and putting Nazir on the defensive as their blades struck one another almost as if this was a choreographed routine.

"And what of Mani?" Nazir asked, "Poor bastard didn't even make it out of the bloodbath?"  
"He was my friend," Sudi shrugged, "but I didn't stick around to see his final moments. I only saw Faren go for him and figured it was either him or Mani. Obviously the face we saw in the sky that night answered that curiosity effectively enough."

"A fair point," Nazir knocked Sudi off balance and struck her, shifting the odds back into his favour, "It was Faren, and obviously that little stunt on the platforms proved that you got your vengeance."  
"Seems I should feel vindicated then," Sudi chuckled as she slashed Nazir's arm in retaliation for the strike that had staggered her earlier, "or maybe we're rambling too much and not fighting enough."  
"Hard to tell, really," Nazir half shrugged before using that momentum to pull back and throw a knife at Sudi which she barely dodged. He pulled out another one and the fight continued.

"I'm sure one of us will be dead soon," Sudi indicated, trying to wear Nazir down as she slashed at his leg to slow his movements. "It's not 'if' anymore. It's 'when'."

And true to her word, within a few minutes, Nazir had thrown another knife, this time his aim striking true to Sudi's vitals. She staggered, and Nazir lodged another blade into her chest just to ensure that she was mortally wounded.

"A talented fighter, you," Nazir commented as Sudi slumped against a rock, coughing up blood.

"We painted tributes are taught… not to fear death," Sudi wheezed, "Nicely… done."

Whether Nazir's aim had been that precise, or if Sudi had simply given up the will to live after two mortal wounds, was for anyone to speculate about. Whatever the case, she went limp a moment later, and a cannon fired to indicate her death. Sudi was gone, and only four tributes remained.

Xandra heard the cannon go off and raced back to Sudi's camp to see if it was her ally that had died, or if it was someone else. She didn't know where anyone but Sudi was at the moment, and so she decided to check in on her last ally. Odds were that if she was alive, she was badly wounded and likely vulnerable.

She learned soon enough that Sudi had died. Nazir's trail of blood from Sudi's attacks, however, proved to be his downfall, for he left a trail as he tried to hobble back to safety. He was limping, while Xandra was in near full health and armed with a large battle axe.

"Just business, friend…" she whispered before jumping out and nearly cleaving Nazir's spine from behind. This shut down his nervous system immediately and took his life at the same time. His cannon went off less than half an hour after Sudi's did, leaving only Xandra, Cadence, and the elusive Serendipity in the games.

Cadence decided to distance himself from wherever Xandra was. He didn't want to have to kill her, and instead wanted to put his full strength against Serendipity. As he fortified his camp and brooded in his solitude that evening, he began to introspect.

Was Serendipity truly his enemy? Or had he gone and done the same thing that District 2's Clove Kazera had done to District 11's Rue Keniye 20 years earlier? Fox Morrowson had been the villain that had slain Lucia. Fox Morrowson…

It was surreal for Cadence to think of. He thought back to the parade hardly two weeks earlier, shortly after the chariot parade.

The girl that had held the elevator door open for them on their way back to their apartments—that had been Fox. Cadence's fists clenched as he realized that for those brief moments, he and Lucia were standing mere inches away from Lucia's future killer.

He wondered again about Serendipity. She had been there too, and suddenly Cadence wondered if he had shared the elevator with his killer at that point as well—or if Serendipity had shared the car with *her* killer.

The anthem that played that evening snapped Cadence out of this thought process, and like the other two remaining tributes, he looked skyward to the fallen tributes.

 _Sudi Ontanago, District 12…_

Cadence hadn't known the girl too well or for very long, but he had admired the wild girl. District 12's "Painted Tributes" always proved to be a wild addition to any game they showed their faces in, and Sudi had been no exception. Her partner Mani had not been as impressive, but Sudi had more than made up for it. Briefly, Cadence wondered what the recaps would show of her. He'd have to win to find out though, and two tributes stood in his way.

 _Nazir Mateaki, District 2…_

Cadence hadn't really known much about him or Gabriela, considering that they were some of his enemies. To him, their deaths were just business even if he had played no part in killing them. Perhaps that was what the Capitol hoped to achieve with these games—to break and desensitize children towards slaying their peers. Cadence had already been relatively insensitive on the subject of death beforehand, and without Lucia to give him a voice of reason, Cadence was more than okay with become a murderer if it could bring him home.

For now though, he slept. There was no telling what tomorrow held, and any careless move by one of the three remaining tributes at this point, could very well be their last.


	22. Chapter 22: A Contemplative Conclusion

**AUTHOR'S NOTES:** _And here I bet everyone thought this story was dead and had gone the way of the world. Well, it nearly did, and I sort of loosely call myself out for it in this chapter. Anyways, I recently got back on a huge Hunger Games kick for some reason, and so hopefully I'll be able to get around to wrapping up the tales I've told in my extensive Hunger Games AU, and give closure to our friends in the 94th (and 95th) Hunger Games. Long story short: I apologize for leaving this story on hiatus for over 9 months. It is not dead, and not forgotten. The show must go on, and so I leave you with the penultimate chapter of the 'games before we hit the post-games and tour._  
 _Happy Reading!_

 **CHAPTER 22: A Contemplative Conclusion**

Time seemed to come to a stop or at the very least, slow to a halt for a while after the anthem faded. The faces of Nazir and Sudi had vanished as well, and the arena grew quiet as the final three tributes went to sleep for what may have been the final time.

Cadence was not sure what time it was when he woke up, considering that he didn't have a watch and that he was fully convinced the sun, moon, stars, and the sky itself, were all fake illusions of the Capitol Gamemakers. Either way, it felt like he had been asleep for an eternity, as if everything around him had just been frozen in time.

Maybe it was. Cadence was not by any means foolish enough to trust the Gamemakers with anything, and even the arena itself was full of far too many dangerous tricks. Still, as he gazed at the dark sky which would surely light up as the morning broke through, he thought about the last few tributes.

Nazir and Sudi were dead, which meant one of three different scenarios: either Xandra and Sudi had confronted Nazir and Serendipity, and they had fought to the death; or perhaps it was only Nazir and Sudi. That would mean Nazir had slain Sudi, only to be slain by Xandra, or backstabbed by Serendipity. Cadence didn't imagine that to be the case though. Serendipity relied too much on her friends to want to take them out while two of her most powerful enemies still lurked in the arena. Cadence and Xandra might not have been allies at this point, but both of them wanted to kill Serendipity, which meant that career girl would have to tread lightly.

The third potential scenario Cadence envisioned was that perhaps after the deaths of the District 2 boy and the District 12 girl; that the last two girls had decided to take him out so they could end the games with a glorious battle. That had been a tactic used by tributes in the past before when they clamoured for a more theatric finish, but at the same time, Cadence couldn't imagine Xandra siding with Serendipity over that. He could see Serendipity proposing it to her, but if Xandra turned it down there would likely be a fight and one of them would not leave that spot alive. Cadence loosely hoped for such an event to transpire, but if it did, it did not happen before the sun came up, and when this happened, Cadence knew it was time to start his day and get moving.

From here his goal would be to try and spy on whichever of the two remaining tributes he ran into first. He was not sure if the arena had contracted at all, or even which direction the walls were as opposed to the cornucopia. Thus, he simply picked a direction and ran. He had no real destination in mind; he simply hoped that if he ran into Xandra, that she would want to kill Serendipity before turning on him. Cadence figured she would be much more dangerous than that District 1 girl to face in single combat, and so he wanted her on his side.

The waiting game continued as Cadence recalibrated himself to the patterns of the shifting stones. He rode a few to get to different parts of the arena until he had memorized the patterns, and used this to discover a trail fresh enough that it had to belong to either Xandra or Serendipity. The prints were distinctly human, and so unless those diabolical red-eyed, grey-skinned humanoid monsters from the last three years were making a comeback, Cadence decided to follow quietly.

His bare feet and light frame left little impact against the grassy rocks, nor did he leave any footprints. He decided to pursue the tracks, since he could theorize and sped the entire day making conjectures, but if he spent all his time thinking but failed to act, he would just be another statistic when Serendipity or Xandra took him out. He had to win at this point—if not for himself, then for Lucia.

The lack of trees made hiding trickier, but the different rock formations made a reasonable enough substitute. Cadence fashioned a makeshift hood out of some old supplies from Lucia's old pack, using them to fashion a hood to cover his fiery red curls. He stood out far too well with them, and right now, not being seen was of utmost importance as he crouched in wait to see which tribute he had been tracking all this time.

It turned out to be Xandra. Either she was completely unaware of Cadence's presence, or she simply chose not to acknowledge it. She was unfazed, peeling pieces off of her latest catch as it cooked over her fire. If Serendipity was stalking her the way Cadence was, she could very easily get the drop on her—or so Cadence assumed. Even in her laid-back state, Xandra's weapon remained at her side and while it was hard to tell due to her mop of dark hair, he was fairly certain her ears were perked in case of any sound. Serendipity might have been many things, but subtle and stealthy were not one of them.

Xandra finished eating, and while Cadence swore she looked right at him, she did not react to his presence at all. She simply rose to her feet, cracking her knuckles and rolling her shoulders, giving her body one last stretch as she picked up her battleaxe and moved out.

It was clear that she did not expect to be ambushed by Serendipity, because she herself made no attempts at stealth as she trudged across rocks and valleys. At one point she jumped on one of the shifting square platforms, which moved only moments later. Cadence knew he would have to either be seen or get left behind, but as the rock began to shift, he had a different idea. He moved himself to a vantage point and made a glorious leap towards the platform that was literally a do or die.

A rather curious image showed up in the large hologram of the arena that the Gamemakers used to directly monitor the tributes' location, thanks to the trackers in their right arms. The number 11 that represented Xandra sat atop the slow-moving stone platforms, and was indeed moving towards the number 1 that represented Serendipity. Near the base of the shifting stone, hardly a few meters above the tree line (which was clearly the kill zone if Faren's demise was anything to go off of) was the number 5, which indicated Cadence.

"He survived the jump," one of the Gamemakers turned to Head Gamemaker Zurok, who had clearly been about to give the signal to fire a cannon.  
"Let's get a visual then," she ordered. Sure enough, as cameras panned in on him, there was the curly-haired boy clinging to the vertical-sloped rock with both hands and one of his feet. He glanced down at the rustling trees, wondering how the stone carved a path through them without leaving cleared land in its wake, but he decided not to question it. For all he knew, it might have been an illusion—and he had not been there when Faren had died.

When the rock stopped at its destination, the lurch nearly shook Cadence off. However, only one boy's life would be claimed by the bottomless forest, and said life had already been claimed after Faren had died. Cadence quietly climbed back up, almost like an insect with the swift and graceful way he clung to the walls with the tips of his fingers and toes. However, by the time he reached the top, Xandra was long gone. Fortunately for someone quiet and stealthy like Cadence, following the heavy and unsubtle footfalls of Xandra Kanosh took minimal effort.

Cadence wondered why she was in such hot pursuit of Serendipity, but perhaps the gut feeling in his stomach that the end of the games was approaching was in hers as well. His calculations might have been a little off, but he had slept a dozen times since the games began, not counting naps. This would put the games at day 13—and since most recent Hunger Games had lasted 14 days, this would mean the Gamemakers would likely be forcing them together soon—which could very well be their undoing if they weren't careful.  
As Cadence trekked across the mossy rocks, he contemplated the last two women standing. Of the two, he definitely wanted Xandra to win. He could not forgive Serendipity for allying with those District 9 tributes that had slain Lucia. He didn't want to kill Xandra, but would if it took him home. It was the last he could do to honour Lucia's memory. Without him, she would just become another statistic—one of the 2,187 tributes that had died in these barbaric games.

He eventually caught up to Xandra, and hardly 5 minutes after doing so, Xandra had cornered Serendipity, who had drawn her weapon.

"I was wondering when you'd ask me to dance," she blew Xandra a kiss. "let's do this."  
"Winner gets ganked by Cadence," Xandra quipped, pulling out her battleaxe. "Let's go."

Cadence was slightly vindicated by these words; it meant neither of them knew he was only a few meters away—and he planned to keep it that way until only one of them was left standing.


End file.
